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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The meaning of acute confusional state from the perspective of elderly patients | | Author(s) | Edith M Andersson, Ingalill R Hallberg, Astrid Norberg |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 17, no 7, July 2002 |
| Pages | pp 652-663 |
| Keywords | Confusion ; In-patients ; Orthopaedics ; Sweden. |
| Annotation | A qualitative study is reported of 50 Swedish patients (aged 67-97) who developed acute confusional state (ACS, or delirium) while in orthopaedic care in hospital, but in all cases the ACS ceased during their stay in the ward. These patients were interviewed once lucid again regarding the course of the event, their experiences, memories and interpretation of what had happened during the ACS. The meaning of the patients' lived experiences of being and having been confused was interpreted as "being trapped in incomprehensible experiences and a turmoil of past and present, and here and there", comprising the themes of trying to get a grip on the experience of the confusion, encountering past, present and the realm of the imagination as reality during the period of the confusion, and confronting the idea of having been confused. Findings indicate that what takes place during ACS is not nonsense, but is probably a mix of a patient's life history and present situation, and above all is a form of communication concerning emotional state and inner experiences of a new situation. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-020814216 A |
| Classmark | EDC: LF7: LKB: 76P |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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