Post-sepsis: a patient-oriented perspective on the recovery phase following sepsis infection

Research problem and specific questionsSepsis is considered the hidden public disease of our time, with 70,000 people affected annually.

Sepsis survivors face challenges such as cognitive impairment, cardiovascular complications, and reduced quality of life.

The project´s goal is to improve the aftercare process for sepsis survivors by integrating their life experiences and identifying relevant actors to optimize long-term rehabilitation and manage post-sepsis syndrome.

The questions are: 1) What does the aftercare process look like from a survivor´s life situation, 2) How can sepsis survivors´ life experiences of aftercare be more clearly integrated into care and support processes and 3) What different actors can be involved to optimize the long-term rehabilitation phase to manage post-sepsis.Data and Method The study focuses on sepsis survivors´ and their relatives´ experiences of the aftercare process.

Through steering documents, in-depth interviews with survivors as well as focus groups and dialogue cafes with survivors and their relatives, we will identify which salutogenic and risk factors are relevant for the long-term perspective of post-sepsis.

The empirical material will be analyzed from an ethical, psychosocial and sociological perspective substantially based on the life stories.Societal relevance and utilisationThere is a lack of systematic knowledge about survivors´ needs during long-term rehabilitation.

The project increases the understanding of post-sepsis and leads to a safer existence for survivors and relatives, improves the quality of life and provides the conditions for more efficient interventions by authorities. One goal is to create a model to integrate the survivors´ experiences into the structure of care and support programs.

The project is a continuation of a far-reaching collaboration with the sepsis association that facilitates utilization.Plan for project realisation  The project has established contacts with sepsis organisations, Sweden´s municipalities and regions´ unit for knowledge management and the infection clinic at SUS.

In the first part of the project, information is collected that constitutes context and provides an overall understanding.

Part two explores the interface between survivors´ and relatives´ experiences of sepsis and how these are integrated into the care and support flows. Part three involves actors from the analysis of part two, to co-create an approach to the long-term recovery phase.