Abstract
Delirium in adults aged 65 and older is a common occurrence in the acute care setting and is often unrecognized by bedside nurses. Delirium can trigger a negative cascade of events resulting in an increase in morbidity and mortality, functional decline, longer length of stay, and high rates of post hospital institutionalization and has a significant socioeconomic impact. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to establish a solid foundation using scholarly literature to support the development of a delirium prevention, recognition, and treatment program in the medical-surgical acute care setting applying the program logic framework. The goal was accomplished by developing a structured program to enhance nurse education (phase 1) using a pretest/posttest design. Phase 2 will be implemented at a later date. The null hypothesis for the project was there is no difference between the pretest group knowledge of delirium scores and the posttest group scores following education. The results of the 36-paired pretests/posttests indicated a significant difference (p < 0.05) following the educational PowerPoint on delirium. Providing education and opportunities for bedside nurses to apply this new knowledge is an effective strategy to increase the identification of delirium, which can lead to improved patient outcomes, reduced socioeconomic burden associated with delirium, and increased positive social change. The economic impact of delirium is considerable with the average cost per day of delirium patients reaching nearly 3 times the cost of patients not having delirium. The elderly population is projected to continue to rise, which will have a profound impact on hospitals and health care as a whole.
Sigma Membership
Phi Nu
Type
Dissertation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Literature Review
Research Approach
N/A
Keywords:
Patient Confusion, Elderly Patients, Patient Care
Advisor
Robert McWhirt
Degree
DNP
Degree Grantor
Walden University
Degree Year
2016
Recommended Citation
Denzik, Bridget Ann, "Bedside nurse recognition of delirium in the medical-surgical setting" (2020). Dissertations. 724.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/dissertations/724
Rights Holder
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All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2020-09-04
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 10100216; ProQuest document ID: 1783981203. The author still retains copyright.