Assessment Protocol for Older Adults With Substance Use

This quality improvement project focuses on geriatric syndromes in patients 55 years and older admitted to a Minnesota substance abuse treatment center. Age-specific assessments identify abnormal conditions or geriatric syndromes, which prompt earlier nursing and medical interventions. Nursing staff attended a training program that focused on older adults and the use of the Fulmer SPICES tool for patients over the age of 55 years. Pretest and posttest scores showed a positive change in nursing knowledge with an increase in mean test scores of 10.32 (SD = 1.763) to 12.81 (SD = 1.545), p = .000. A 2-month preimplementation and postimplementation chart audit identified changes in assessment findings using the SPICES tool with an increase in adverse outcomes (1.03%) including sleep problems in 75.4% (n = 43) of the target population.