Medical staff's knowledge of delirium by occupation and the effectiveness of an on-demand e-learning

We aimed to evaluate the understanding of delirium among multidisciplinary medical staff and assess whether a brief e-learning course improved their knowledge on the topic.

A total of 611 medical staff members participated in the study, including 32 physicians, 393 nurses, 33 nursing assistants, 21 pharmacists, and 132 other multidisciplinary staff, which included non-clinical personnel. A 20-question delirium knowledge test was administered both before and after a 40-min, on-demand e-learning course.

At baseline, there was limited understanding that delirium involves a disturbance of consciousness, can be triggered by physical illness or medications, and that few medications are recommended for its treatment. Furthermore, visual hallucinations were not widely recognized as a common type of hallucination in delirium. However, care strategies and non-pharmacological interventions for delirium were well understood even before the course. After the brief e-learning course, knowledge scores significantly increased, demonstrating a large effect size of 0.53. Physicians and pharmacists achieved higher overall knowledge scores after the course compared to other occupational groups.

Education and targeted dissemination efforts regarding the causes, diagnosis, and pharmacological treatment of delirium are essential for enhancing delirium knowledge among multidisciplinary staff. The leadership role of a "liaison" psychiatrist is pivotal for ensuring effective delirium care and fostering a team-based approach in clinical practice.