Approximately one quarter of all hospitalized patients over age 75 years have a secondary diagnosis of dementia. A unique hospital-wide program to encourage appropriate communication techniques with patients who have dementia was provided to all departments of a hospital. Evaluation indicated improvement in some communication techniques. Additional education is needed to disperse the information to as many staff as possible and to sustain the change.
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a protocol designed to prevent delirium in hospitalized elders with the risk factors of dementia and/or vision, hearing, and/or mobility impairments. A group of 80 patients with risk factors hospitalized before the protocol was implemented was matched with a group of 80 patients admitted after the implementation of the protocol. Records of patients in both groups were reviewed to identify patients with delirium. A significant reduction in delirium, from 37.5% to 13.8%, occurred in the elders receiving the protocol.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.