A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Video Decision Making Aid to Obtain Informed Consent in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Specific Aim 1: To demonstrate that clinical surrogates of SICU patients who view a video decision aid in addition to receiving written and verbal information about procedures and life sustaining therapy in the SICU make more informed decisions than patients and clinical surrogates who receive written and verbal information alone. Hypothesis 1: Adding a video decision aid to the current informed consent process, for procedures and life sustaining treatments in the SICU, will better inform clinical surrogates of incapacitated patients admitted to the SICU regarding decision making when providing consent for medical treatment.