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Delirium Assessment and Management: A qualitative study on aged-care nurses’ experiences

Aged residential care (ARC) residents with morbid health conditions frequently experience delirium. This condition is associated with diminished quality of life, preventable morbidity and untimely death. It is challenging and costly to manage delirium because of the complex interplay of physical and psychiatric symptoms associated with this condition in both primary and secondary services. With awareness of risk factors and knowledge about delirium, ARC nurses can play a vital role in early identification, assessment and treatment, but most importantly in preventing delirium in aged-care residents as well as improving health outcomes. Focus groups were carried out with ARC nurses to ascertain their opinions on how they assess and manage delirium in ARC facilities in South Auckland, New Zealand. Findings identified that there were strengths and weaknesses, as well as gaps in assessment and management of delirium. Nurses would benefit from delirium education, appropriate tools and adequate resources to help them manage delirium. Issues with diagnosing delirium, anxiety about challenging behaviours, family dynamics, lack of training and absence of IV treatment were noticeable features in this study.