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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Understanding barriers to delirium care
— a multicentre survey of knowledge and attitudes amongst UK junior doctors | | Author(s) | Daniel Davis, Alasdair MacLullich |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 38, no 5, September 2009 |
| Pages | pp 559-563 |
| Source | http://www.ageing.oxfordjournals.org |
| Keywords | Confusion ; Medical care ; Attitude ; Doctors ; Hospital services ; Social surveys. |
| Annotation | Delirium in under-diagnosed and under-treated in comparison to other common and serious acute disorders. The reasons for this are unclear. The authors conducted a multicentre survey of knowledge and attitudes to delirium in trainee junior doctors in 34 acute hospitals in the UK. A questionnaire was developed designed to test knowledge of delirium prevalence, DSM-IV diagnostic criteria, use of specific screening tools, association with adverse outcomes, and pharmacological management. Questionnaires were completed and returned by hand to the researchers immediately after recruitment. Participants were a convenience sample comprising 784 trainee doctors in general and emergency medicine. Most participants expressed the view that delirium was a high prevalence and that it is associated with serious adverse outcomes. However, they had poor knowledge of its diagnosis and treatment, reporting the need for better training. Experience working in geriatric medicine had only a modest effect on the ability to diagnose delirium. UK training doctors' lack of basic knowledge of the diagnosis and management of delirium, rather than a lack of awareness of its high prevalence and clinical significance, appears to be important in determining its under-recognition. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-091207210 A |
| Classmark | EDC: LK: DP: QT2: LD: 3F |
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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