Photo Credit: Freepik

The following is a summary of “Ableism After Critical Illness: A Qualitative Translation of Key Concepts to the Post-ICU Context,” published in the April 2025 issue of Critical Care Medicine by Scheunemann et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to characterize ableism after critical illness and examine its relationship with care delivery.  

They performed a secondary analysis of semi-structured individual interviews (n = 42) and 10 group interviews (n = 68 participants) using modified grounded theory and identified categories of ableism based on existing disability studies literature. Patterns in the analysis were used to describe overarching themes.  

The results showed that 2 overarching themes emerged: ableism created significant barriers to participation in meaningful activities after critical illness, and it was endemic. Examples of ableism were found in all interviews, 6 categories of ableism were identified: infantilization and patronization; disability leading to inability; denial of disability experience; invasion of privacy and denial of meaningful relationships; being ignored and excluded; and pushing care providers beyond their perceived capacity. Ableism expressed toward others was typically matter of fact, but when participants defined experiencing or witnessing ableism, emotions ranged from anxiety to outrage. Participants connected ableism to broader policies and practices, demonstrated its endemic presence in the healthcare system.  

Investigators concluded that ableism presented multifaceted barriers to participation after critical illness, undermining resilience and wellbeing, and they hypothesized that anti-ableist interventions could reduce disability-related barriers to resilience to optimize recovery after critical illness. 

Source: journals.lww.com/ccmjournal/abstract/2025/04000/ableism_after_critical_illness__a_qualitative.7.aspx