A threat to our integrity - Meanings of providing nursing care for older patients with cognitive impairment in acute care settings

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Nilsson ◽  
Birgit H. Rasmussen ◽  
David Edvardsson
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichi Tomioka ◽  
Megumi Rosenberg ◽  
Kiyohide Fushimi ◽  
Shinya Matsuda

Abstract Background Globally, and particularly in countries with rapidly ageing populations like Japan, there are growing concerns over the heavy burden of ill health borne by older people, and the capacity of the health system to ensure their access to quality care. Older people with dementia may face even greater barriers to appropriate care in acute care settings. Yet, studies about the care quality for older patients with dementia in acute care settings are still few. The objective of this study is to assess whether dementia status is associated with poorer treatment by examining the association of a patient’s dementia status with the probability of receiving surgery and the waiting time until surgery for a hip fracture in acute care hospitals in Japan. Methods All patients with closed hip fracture were extracted from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database between April 2014 and March 2018. After excluding complicated cases, we conducted regressions with multilevel models. We used two outcome measures: (i) whether the patient received a surgery or was treated by watchful waiting; and (ii) number of waiting days until surgery after admission. Results Two hundred fourteen thousand six hundred one patients discharged from 1328 hospitals were identified. Among them, 159,173 patients received surgery. Both 80–89 year-olds (OR 0.87; 95% CI, 0.84, 0.90) and those 90 years old and above (OR 0.67; 95% CI, 0.65, 0.70) had significantly lower odds ratios for receiving surgery compared to 65–79 year-olds. Those with severe dementia had a significantly greater likelihood of receiving surgery compared to those without dementia (OR 1.21; 95% CI, 1.16, 1.25). Patients aged 90 years old and above had shorter waiting time for surgery (Coef. -0.06; 95% CI, − 0.11, − 0.01). Mild dementia did not have a statistically significant impact on the number of waiting days until surgery (P = 0.34), whereas severe dementia was associated with shorter waiting days (Coef. -0.08; 95% CI, − 0.12, − 0.03). Conclusions These findings suggest physicians may be taking proactive measures to preserve physical function for those with severe dementia and to avoid prolonged hospitalization although there are no formal guidelines on prioritization for the aged and dementia patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (S4) ◽  
pp. 264-272
Author(s):  
Eva-Luisa Schnabel ◽  
Hans-Werner Wahl ◽  
Susanne Penger ◽  
Julia Haberstroh

Abstract Background and objective Acutely ill older patients with cognitive impairment represent a major subgroup in acute care hospitals. In this context, communication plays a crucial role for patients’ well-being, healthcare decisions, and medical outcomes. As validated measures are lacking, we tested the psychometric properties of an observational instrument to assess Communication Behavior in Dementia (CODEM) in the acute care hospital setting. As a novel feature, we were also able to incorporate linguistic and social-contextual measures. Material and methods Data were drawn from a cross-sectional mixed methods study that focused on the occurrence of elderspeak during care interactions in two German acute care hospitals. A total of 43 acutely ill older patients with severe cognitive impairment (CI group, Mage ± SD = 83.6 ± 5.7 years) and 50 without cognitive impairment (CU group, Mage ± SD = 82.1 ± 6.3 years) were observed by trained research assistants during a standardized interview situation and rated afterwards by use of CODEM. Results Factor analysis supported the expected two-factor solution for the CI group, i.e., a verbal content and a nonverbal relationship aspect. Findings of the current study indicated sound psychometric properties of the CODEM instrument including internal consistency, convergent, divergent, and criterion validity. Conclusion CODEM represents a reliable and valid tool to examine the communication behavior of older patients with CI in the acute care hospital setting. Thus, CODEM might serve as an important instrument for researcher and healthcare professionals to describe and improve communication patterns in this environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i25-i26
Author(s):  
H Day

Abstract Background Concern around poor standards of nursing care for older people in hospital has been explored in relation to workload and operational pressures. What is less evident from existing literature is an explanation as to why nurses behave differently under the same pressures within the same concrete situations. Notions of personality and associated behaviours as possible influencers on nursing care delivery are variables that required consideration. Aim To critically explore the behaviours of registered nursing staff working in older people's acute care settings from the perspectives gathered from key stakeholders, and to identify whether there are any distinguishing personality traits that influence effective care delivery for older people. Methods A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used. Semi structured interviews were conducted to gather data from 12 stakeholder participants. Results Through the analysis of data gathered from stakeholders a rubric describing specific behaviours with associated traits emerged leading to the identification of two major types of nursing staff. One group of nurses who work with older people are perceived to have no real desire to do so and in turn their care behaviours are perceived as ‘cold’ and task based. The second group of nurses are perceived as having a true commitment to older people’s wellbeing and their behaviours lead to the delivery of care that is perceived as being highly skilled and compassionate. The proposed theoretical framework that was constructed from this data analysis identifies four key personality traits related to nursing behaviours: conscientiousness, sociability, integrity and coping under a core category heading of ‘the authentic self’. Whilst the authentic self is identified as being the direct influencer on how care is delivered which is defined as the consequence, the influence of context is also taken into account. Conclusions This research offers insights into the meaning of four key traits and the behavioral facets comprising them, the associated behaviors that are displayed and what effect these have on nursing care delivery. Implications for healthcare practice include the potential for further research that can inform the development of educational and recruitment strategies for older people’s nurses which will have a positive impact on the care of the older patient in hospital.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-214
Author(s):  
Ahtisham Younas ◽  
Sobia Parveen

This article presents an evaluation of Margaret Newman’s theory of health as expanding consciousness, through a literature review, to determine its usefulness for nursing practice and research. The evaluation illustrates that Newman’s theory is valuable for guiding various aspects of nursing practice, education, and research. However, its use had been limited to spiritual, psychological, and social aspects of nursing care and needs to be further evaluated for its significance in acute care settings. Most of the studies that use Newman’s theory are from the past, with limited studies conducted in recent years, indicating the need for further research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre O'Donnell ◽  
Éidín Ní Shé ◽  
Carmel Davies ◽  
Sarah Donnelly ◽  
Therese Cooney ◽  
...  

Background: The Assisted Decision-Making (ADM) (Capacity) Act 2015 was enacted by Dáil Éireann in December 2015. The purpose of the act, as it applies to healthcare, is to promote the autonomy of persons in relation to their treatment choices, to enable them to be treated according to their will and preferences, and to provide healthcare professionals with important information about persons and their choices in relation to treatment. In practice, those patients with cognitive impairment, particularly dementia, and those with complex needs requiring composite decisions present the greatest challenge to healthcare professionals practicing in accordance with this legislation. Patients with complex needs requiring multifaceted decisions are often over 70 years of age and present in acute hospitals experiencing some form of cognitive impairment. Objectives: The aim of this project is to develop an educational tool which will promote understanding of ADM among healthcare professionals working in acute care settings, and encourage their adoption of this understanding into their care planning with older people. Research design: The study design for this project is mapped out over four consecutive work packages combining a multimethod approach including rapid realist review, qualitative exploration, participatory learning and action sets and intervention trialling and revision. This incremental and context sensitive approach to research design is appropriate for the exploration, development and evaluation of a complex behaviour change intervention. Conclusion: The targeted beneficiaries of this project are healthcare professionals working within acute care settings as well as older people and their family carers who are interacting with the acute care system. The potential impact is improved communication between healthcare professionals and their patients in relation to assisted decision-making and care planning. This educational intervention will be embedded into the pedagogic strategies of the RCPI in their postgraduate education curricula as well as the continuous professional development scheme.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zengarini ◽  
Giacconi ◽  
Mancinelli ◽  
Riccardi ◽  
Castellani ◽  
...  

Sarcopenia and cognitive impairment are associated with an increased risk of negative outcomes, but their prognostic interplay has not been investigated so far. We aimed to investigate the prognostic interaction of sarcopenia and cognitive impairment concerning 12-month mortality among older patients discharged from acute care wards in Italy. Our series consisted of 624 patients (age = 80.1 ± 7.0 years, 56.1% women) enrolled in a prospective observational study. Sarcopenia was defined following the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) criteria. Cognitive impairment was defined as age- and education-adjusted Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score < 24 or recorded diagnosis of dementia. The study outcome was all-cause mortality during 12-month follow-up. The combination of sarcopenia and cognitive ability was tested against participants with intact cognitive ability and without sarcopenia. Overall, 159 patients (25.5%) were identified as having sarcopenia, and 323 (51.8%) were cognitively impaired. During the follow-up, 79 patients (12.7%) died. After adjusting for potential confounders, the combination of sarcopenia and cognitive impairment has been found associated with increased mortality (HR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.05–4.13). Such association was also confirmed after excluding patients with dementia (HR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.06–4.17), underweight (HR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.03–3.91), high comorbidity burden (HR = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.09–6.32), and severe disability (HR = 2.88, 95% CI = 1.10–5.73). The co-occurrence of sarcopenia and cognitive impairment may predict 1-year mortality in older patients discharged from acute care hospitals.


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