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Abstract
Objectives: Cognitive impairment is common among older persons admitted to hospital and associated with adverse outcomes. Inadequate care has been widely reported, with health professionals tending to be ill-equipped to meet the specific needs of this patient group. This study aimed to investigate health professionals’ care provision to persons with cognitive impairment and associated challenges.
Design and Setting: A concurrent, cross-sectional mixed method study was conducted at two university-affiliated hospitals.
Participants: A total of 339 health professionals participated in the study.
Measurements: An online survey (n = 312) determined the extent to which health professionals perceived their care provision to be person-centered and evidence-based (POPAC-R), and experience distress in looking after this patient group (NPI-D). Four focus group interviews (n = 27) explored health professionals’ experience of care provision.
Results: More than half of the health professionals reported to act always or very frequently in person-centered and evidence-based ways, and two third experienced challenging behaviors as moderately to very distressing. Health professionals working in acute geriatric wards demonstrated statistically significant higher levels of person-centered and evidence-based care provision, and lower distress. Their caring practices pertained to building a relationship, addressing specific needs, involving family members, and working collaboratively.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that geriatric models of care delivery support staff in meeting the needs of persons with cognitive impairment. Health professionals require an acute care culture that values relational, collaborative and coordinated care as essential to patient safety and quality of care, and supports the consistent implementation of evidence-based practices for this patient group.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflict of interest.
Authors contribution
J. Ernst co-designed the study, collected and analyzed quantitative data, and wrote the paper. H. Petry designed the study, collected qualitative data, and co-wrote the article. N. Luethi was involved in recruiting participants for the study. R. Naef designed the study, supervised quantitative data collection, collected and analyzed qualitative data, and co-wrote the paper. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.