Predictors of Caregiver Burden in Delirium: Patient and Caregiver Factors.

The current study examined the association of patient factors, patient/caregiver relationships, and living arrangements with caregiver burden due to delirium. The sample included a subset ( = 207) of hospitalized medical and surgical patients (aged >70 years) enrolled in the Better Assessment of Illness Study and their care-givers. The majority of caregivers were female (57%) and married (43%), and 47% reported living with the patient.

Preventing Delirium Takes a Village: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Delirium Preventive Models of Care.

Background: Each hospital day of delirium incurs greater healthcare costs, higher levels of care, greater staff burden, and higher complication rates. Accordingly, administrators are incentivized to identify models of care that reduce delirium rates and associated costs.

Purpose: We present a systematic review and meta-analysis of delirium prevention models of care.

Predicting Risk Factors for 30-Day Readmissions Following Discharge From Post-Acute Care.

Purpose Of Study: The specific aims of this descriptive study were to (1) examine the relationships between individual-level determinants of health using standard care admission assessments of residents admitted to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and those residents readmitted to the hospital within 30 days from discharge from the same SNF; (2) identify and describe the risk factors of the residents readmitted to the hospital within 30 days; and (3) use the findings to inform and refine current practice to target the mutable risk factors correlated with 30-day hospital readmission.

Primary Practice Setting: A 180-bed skilled nursing center in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Methodology And Sample: A retrospective paper medical record review of patients discharged from an SNF to community living was conducted to examine the relationship between individual determinants of health behaviors and 30-day hospital readmissions.

Reliability and Validity Testing of the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia Scale.

Background/rationale: This study tested the psychometric properties of the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) Scale using Rasch analysis. The QUALID includes 11 items with a 5-point response scale. Scores range from 11 to 55, and lower scores indicate higher quality of life (QoL).

Testing the evidence integration triangle for implementation of interventions to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia: Protocol for a pragmatic trial.

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) include aggression, agitation, resistiveness to care, depression, anxiety, apathy, and hallucinations. BPSD are common in nursing home residents and can be ameliorated using person-centered approaches. Despite regulatory requirements, less than 2% of nursing homes consistently implement person-centered behavioral approaches.

Persistent Pain in Older Adults: Roy's Adaptation Model.

Persistent pain in older adults is difficult to assess and therefore address consistently. The experience of pain is individual, and therefore a comprehensive way to assess pain is required. Roy's adaptation model offers a systematic way of evaluating pain in the older adult.

Reliability and Validity of the Care Plan Checklist for Evidence of Person-Centered Approaches for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms Associated With Dementia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Care Plan Checklist for Evidence of Person-Centered Approaches for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms Associated with Dementia (BPSD).

Methods: This study used baseline data from the first cohort of a larger randomized clinical trial testing the implementation of the Evidence of Integration Triangle for BPSD. Fourteen settings volunteered to participate, 8 from Maryland and 6 from Pennsylvania, and a total of 137 residents were recruited.

Responding to Ten Common Delirium Misconceptions With Best Evidence: An Educational Review for Clinicians.

Delirium (acute confusion) is a serious, common health condition, and it predicts poor outcomes, including greater rates of mortality, institutionalization, prolonged hospitalization, and cognitive impairment. Expedient diagnosis and management are critical to address modifiable delirium causes and improve both quality of care and outcomes. Moreover, more than a third of delirium is preventable.

Informal caregivers and detection of delirium in postacute care: a correlational study of the confusion assessment method (CAM), confusion assessment method-family assessment method (CAM-FAM) and DSM-IV criteria.

Objectives: Delirium is a common, serious and potentially life-threatening syndrome affecting older adults. This syndrome continues to be under-recognised and under treated by healthcare professionals across all care settings. Older adults who develop delirium have poorer outcomes, higher mortality and higher care costs.

Screening for delirium using family caregivers: convergent validity of the Family Confusion Assessment Method and interviewer-rated Confusion Assessment Method.

Objectives: To explore agreement between the Family Confusion Assessment Method (FAM-CAM) for delirium identification and interviewer-rated CAM delirium ratings.

Design: Exploratory analysis of agreement.

Setting: Community.

Driving and dementia: what nurses need to know.

Driving is considered an instrumental activity of daily living and, for many older adults, is also associated with the ability to maintain independence. The diagnosis of dementia, distressing on its own, paired with the threat to driving independence, makes this a difficult issue for patients, families, and clinicians. The purpose of this article is to provide a brief overview of the current research regarding driving safety and dementia, guidelines that can be used to assess driving risk, and counseling tips for patients and families regarding driving safety.

Delirium superimposed on dementia. Assessment and intervention.

Delirium remains a significant risk for hospitalized older adults and has been shown to be a persistent risk posthospitalization as well. Dementia is a risk factor for delirium. The prevalence of delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) ranges from 22% to 89% in hospitalized and community-dwelling individuals 65 and older.