Participant, Delirium Quality Improvement Project

Delirium is a common complication for approximately 30% of our geriatric medical in-patients. It leads to drastically longer length of stays, increased morbidity, increased mortality and loss of function. Providing a way to better support patients and their caregivers while in hospital is the goal of this study. The team is seeking patients and caregivers to provide insight into what’s important to address within this project.

Open to: Patient partners in Fraser Health communities

Lead Organization or Department

Fraser Health, Physicians Quality Improvement Program

Aim

• Ensure the patient voice is embedded in all aspects of the planning, design, delivery and evaluation of the Delirium Quality Improvement Project;
• Integrate patient partners as co-designers of the project;
• Develop a partnership-focused approach between the project team and patient partners.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of involve on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will involve patients in planning and design phases to ensure ideas or concerns are considered and reflected in alternatives and recommendations.

Eligibility

Patient partners from Fraser Health Communities who are, or have been a caregiver to someone with delirium and/or a patient who is currently experiencing delirium. If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and Volunteer Agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact Jami Brown directly.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 1-2
• Date/time: Meetings will be scheduled at the convenience of patient partners
• Commitment: 3, 1-2 hour meetings over the next 6-8 months
• Location: Meetings will be conducted by telephone or in person at Eagle Ridge Hospital, or a convenient community location for patient partners

Reimbursement

To be determined.

Background

Objective: To decrease distress associated with delirium experienced by geriatric patients and families on Eagle Ridge Hospital Acute Medical Wards. Opportunity: Delirium is profoundly distressing to patients and their families. This study will use a survey tool to assess caregiver and patient experience.  The objective is to implement changes (along with the regional Delirium Project) that will reduce the distress experienced by patients and families as reflected in the survey scores. Rationale: Delirium is a common complication for approximately 30% of our geriatric medical in-patients. It leads to drastically longer length of stays, increased morbidity, increased mortality and loss of function. There is ongoing interest in reducing the precedence, severity and duration of delirium for our acute medical patients. A standardized pre-printed order set was developed based on the best available evidence and trialed in 2012. This resulted in reduction in many markers associated with improved patient delirium care including: increase in appropriate medication changes, reduction in Foley catheter use, reduction in restraint use, reduction in length of stay, and increased nursing and allied health awareness of delirium. Regionally this order set has been revised and a multi-disciplinary group has convened to re-implement the order set regionally. This project aims to dove-tail with the regional objectives and focus on the patient and family experience with the goal of decreasing the distress while increasing staff awareness and raising the overall standard of care for delirium patients.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jami Brown
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Fraser Valley
604.510.0449
jbrown@bcpsqc.ca