Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, Bowes Lyon Unit, Lanchester Road Hospital, Durham, UK.
J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2011 Feb;18(1):67-73. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2010.01630.x. Epub 2010 Oct 5.
UK health policy has used the terms 'frailty' and 'complexity' synonymously but there is no common definition for either. Understanding these concepts is important if demand for health care created by the increasing number of older people in society is to be managed effectively. This paper explores some findings from a study into how mental health nurses who work with older people construct and operationalize the concept of 'age-related complexity'. Constructivist grounded theory was used. Audio-taped interviews were undertaken with 13 registered nurses and were analysed using a constant comparative method. This paper addresses the relationship between frailty and complexity, which was identified as a theme within the category 'dynamic complexity'. The findings suggest that nurses understand important differences between the two concepts. Frailty is exclusively used to describe physical states while complexity is a more encompassing term that has resonance and relevance in mental health services. The dynamic nature of complexity means that older people can become both more and less complex and this has implications for nursing practice that require further study.
英国的健康政策一直将“衰弱”和“复杂性”这两个术语作为同义词使用，但这两个术语都没有一个通用的定义。如果要有效地管理因社会中老年人口增加而产生的对医疗保健的需求，理解这些概念非常重要。本文探讨了一项研究的部分发现，该研究旨在了解与老年人一起工作的精神科护士如何构建和实施“与年龄相关的复杂性”这一概念。采用了建构主义扎根理论。对 13 名注册护士进行了录音采访，并使用恒定性比较方法进行了分析。本文探讨了衰弱和复杂性之间的关系，该关系被确定为“动态复杂性”类别中的一个主题。研究结果表明，护士理解这两个概念之间的重要差异。衰弱专门用于描述身体状态，而复杂性是一个更全面的术语，在精神卫生服务中具有共鸣和相关性。复杂性的动态性质意味着老年人的复杂性可能会增加或减少，这对护理实践有影响，需要进一步研究。
