Feasibility of family participation in a delirium prevention program for hospitalized older adults

Delirium is the leading complication of hospitalization for older adults. The role family caregivers could play in delirium prevention and how nurses could facilitate family participation has been largely unexplored. This study examined the feasibility of family participation in a multicomponent intervention program for delirium prevention in hospitalized older adults called Family-HELP, as an adaptation and extension of the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP). Family-HELP demonstrates that active engagement of family caregivers in preventive interventions for delirium is feasible. Intervention completion occurred at least 55% of the time. Three themes emerged on barriers and facilitators for family participation: therapeutic relationships, partnership, and environment. Key to successful implementation of the program is attention to the identified barriers and facilitators. These findings have implications for clinicians committed to delivering quality inpatient care to older adults and their families, with the benefits of HELP being extended to include family caregivers with an important role in delirium prevention efforts.