Delirium care: Real-world solutions to real-world problems

Abstract

Objectives

Implementation research into delirium care is lacking. Exploiting known practice barriers to understand what management strategies work best in delirium is a means of prioritising care interventions. A consensus approach to determining priority interventions in delirium was derived and related to reference standards in health-care practice. Methods

A workshop of 20 experts was held at the Australasian Delirium Association conference 2016. Structured small group work, iterative ranking and a 21-member check were undertaken to (i) explore research barriers in delirium care; (ii) explore how barriers related to individual items of multicomponent interventions; and (iii) rank multicomponent interventions in relation to each statement within the newly released Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care delirium standard. Results

Top-ranking interventions included the following: education and training, comprehensive geriatric assessment, family partnerships, individualised care and multidisciplinary engagement. Conclusion

Delirium experts identified a minimum standard of any care intervention for delirium.