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Poster abstracts
16 Delirium care of hospice patients: a qualitative interview study with staff and volunteers
  1. Imogen Featherstone1,
  2. Miriam Johnson2,
  3. Lesley Jones2,
  4. Eleonora Coppo3,
  5. Annmarie Hosie4,
  6. Shirley H Bush5,
  7. Najma Siddiqi1,2,
  8. Johanna Taylor1 and
  9. Andrew Teodorczuk6
  1. 1University of York, UK
  2. 2Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, UK
  3. 3University Hospital in Turin, Italy
  4. 4University of Technology Sydney, Australia
  5. 5Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada
  6. 6Griffith University, Australia

Abstract

Introduction Delirium is a distressing condition which is commonly experienced by hospice patients. Although delirium can be prevented by around one-third in hospital inpatients (Siddiqi et al. 2016) there has been little research into effective strategies to prevent and manage delirium in hospices. Greater insight into the current practice attitudes and understanding of hospice staff and volunteers would inform the development of interventions that are tailored to improve delirium care in hospices.

Aim To explore the understanding attitudes and practice of hospice staff and volunteers regarding the care of patients with delirium.

Methods 36 qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted at two hospices. Participants were purposively sampled to include different disciplines (9 health care assistants, 8 nurses, 5 doctors, 4 volunteers, 3 board members, 2 allied health professionals, 2 managers, 2 domestic workers and 2 fundraisers). A topic guide and case vignettes prompted participants to describe their experiences in relation to delirium prevention recognition assessment and management. Three researchers are conducting thematic analysis to identify analyse and interpret themes from the interview data.

Results Provisional results include themes of: ‘Supporting the distressing experience of delirium’; ‘Management strategies’ and ‘The burden of delirium care.’ Gaps in current practice relate to delirium prevention recognition and screening. Potential facilitators for developing interventions in hospices include education flexibility in staffing the role of volunteers and a supportive staff culture.

Conclusion This study will provide important insights into staff and volunteers’ current practice which will inform the development of a targeted intervention to improve delirium care in hospices.

Reference

  1. . Siddiqi N, Harrison J, Clegg A, Teale E, Young J, Taylor J, Simpkins S. Interventions for preventing delirium in hospitalised non-ICU patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews2016;(3). Art. No.: CD005563. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005563.pub3

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2018-mariecurie.16

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