The opinions and experiences of nurses on frailty screening among older hospitalized patients. An exploratory study

BMC Geriatrics

Monique F. M. T. Du Moulin¹  Marjolein van Lottum¹  Gertrudis I. J. M. Kempen²  Erik van Rossum³  Jos M. G. A. Schols⁴  Ron M. J. Warnier⁵ 

[1] Academy of Nursing, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Heerlen, The Netherlands;Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Academy of Nursing, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Heerlen, The Netherlands;Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Department of Family Medicine, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Department of Health Services Research, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands;Envida, Care for Elderly, Department of Treatment and Guidance, Vijverdalseweg 10, 6226, Maastricht, NB, The Netherlands;

关键词: Frailty screening;    Nurses opinions;    Hospitalized older patients;    Frailty;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-021-02586-z

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRoutine screening for frailty at admission by nurses may be useful to detect geriatric risks and problems at an early stage. However, the added value of this screening is not clear yet. Information about the opinions and attitudes of nurses towards this screening is also lacking. As they have a crucial role in conducting this screening, an exploratory study was performed to examine hospital nurses’ opinions and perspectives about this screening and how it influences their daily work.MethodsA qualitative, exploratory approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews with 13 nurses working on different general medical wards (surgical and internal medicine) in three Dutch hospitals. Frailty screening had been implemented for several years in these hospitals.ResultsThe participating nurses reported that frailty screening can be useful to structure their work, create more awareness of frail older patients and as starting point for pro-active nursing care. At the same time, they assess their clinical view as more important than the results of a standard screening tool. The nurses hardly used the overall screening scores, but were particularly interested in information regarding specific items, such as delirium or fall risk. Screening results are partly embedded systematically and in daily nursing care, e.g., in team briefings or during transfer of patients to other wards. The majority of the nurses had received little training about the background of frailty screening and the use of screening tools.ConclusionsMost nurses stated that frailty screening tools are helpful in daily practice. However, nurses did not use the frailty screening tools in the referred way; tools were particularly used to evaluate patients on separate items of the tool instead of the summative score of the tool. When frailty screening tools are implemented in daily practice, training needs to be focused on. Additional research in this field is necessary to gain more insight into nurses’ opinions on frailty screening.

【 授权许可】

CC BY