Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Beliefs About Delirium Assessment and Management

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Critical Care Nursing
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Delirium is a common complication in hospitalized older adults, especially in intensive care units (ICUs).
• It is associated with increased mortality and prolonged hospital stays.
• Nurses often face challenges in consistently identifying and managing delirium in these patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore ICU nurses' identification of delirium.
• To understand nurses' intended actions for patients exhibiting delirium signs/symptoms.
• To investigate nurses' beliefs regarding delirium assessment and management.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study utilizing qualitative descriptive methods.
• Guided by the theory of planned behavior.
• 30 ICU nurses responded to patient vignettes depicting various delirium subtypes, followed by descriptive and content analyses.

Main Results:

• Nurses demonstrated inconsistent identification of delirium across different patient scenarios.
• Reported nursing actions for delirium varied significantly.
• Nurses identified a need for adequate staffing, manageable workloads, interprofessional collaboration, and clear policies/protocols to effectively manage delirium.

Conclusions:

• Current nursing practices for delirium identification and management in ICUs are inconsistent.
• Nurses perceive systemic factors like staffing and protocols as crucial for improving delirium care.
• Further research is recommended to evaluate interventions aimed at enhancing delirium recognition and reducing its adverse outcomes.