Delirium in older people in hospital: an education programme

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of an educational programme on the identification and management of delirium by nurses in the medical wards of a tertiary care hospital in South India. Method: A non-equivalent controlled pre- and post-intervention research design was used. The sample size of nurses through convenient sampling was 15 in the experimental group and 17 in the comparison group. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of nurses and an observation checklist was used to assess practice. The Confusion Assessment Method (Inouye et al, 1990) was used to detect delirium among older people who were hospitalised. Data collection was carried out over a 6-week period. Results: There was a significant improvement in the knowledge (p<0.001) and practice (p<0.003) of nurses in the experimental group following the educational programme