Marquette University, College of Nursing, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881, USA.
Int J Older People Nurs. 2011 Jun;6(2):85-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-3743.2010.00260.x. Epub 2010 Dec 28.
BACKGROUND; Delirium is a critical, costly, frequently reversible problem in older adults. Findings of previous studies indicate that delirium occurs in up to 65% of hospitalised older adults and up to 80% of terminally ill patients. Few studies address the frequency of delirium in community dwelling older adults and the extent to which delirium symptoms create distress for their family caregivers.
To determine the frequency of delirium in older people attending two adult day centers (ADC) in the United States and identify the extent to which delirium symptoms were associated with family caregivers' mental health symptoms, and ways of coping with the older adults' care.
A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. Thirty older adults and their family caregivers were randomly selected from the rosters of the ADC.
Only 6.7% of the older adults had a positive screen for delirium. The majority of family caregivers (96.6%) stated that they had no knowledge of delirium prior to participating in this study.
Both older adults and their family caregivers need education about delirium symptoms and risks.
背景；谵妄是老年人中一种严重且代价高昂的、常可逆转的问题。先前研究的结果表明，多达 65%的住院老年患者和多达 80%的临终患者会发生谵妄。很少有研究涉及社区居住的老年人群中谵妄的频率，以及谵妄症状会在多大程度上给他们的家庭照顾者带来困扰。
在美国的两个成人日托中心（ADC）中确定患有谵妄的老年人的频率，并确定谵妄症状与家庭照顾者的心理健康症状之间的关联程度，以及应对老年人护理的方式。
采用描述性、横断面设计。从 ADC 的名单中随机选择了 30 名老年患者及其家庭照顾者。
只有 6.7%的老年人出现了谵妄阳性筛查。大多数家庭照顾者（96.6%）表示，在参与本研究之前，他们对谵妄一无所知。
老年患者及其家庭照顾者均需要接受谵妄症状和风险的教育。
