Problems of basic nursing care in acutely confused and non-confused hip-fracture patients

Thirty-five patients operated on for femoral neck fracture were studied. Fifteen (42.9%) became acutely confused after surgery. Problems in the 14 components of basic nursing care (Henderson 1964), were identified by means of interviews with the patients and their caregivers. The quantitative analysis of the results showed that significantly more of the acutely confused patients had problems in nine out of 14 components of basic nursing care as compared with the non-confused patients. The qualitative analysis showed that the problems of the non-confused patients were mostly caused by the fracture and by hospitalisation. The same problems were also present among the acutely confused patients who, in addition, had problems which arose from the acute confusional state.