Delirium among hospitalized older adults in Thailand: An integrative review

Abstract

The current integrative review explored the prevalence of delirium among Thai older adults and the role of nurses and physicians in detecting delirium. Several academic databases were searched for relevant studies using a set of predetermined search terms and limits. Study quality was assessed using the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Principles of Peer Review. Thirteen studies were reviewed, and three themes were identified: (a) Epidemiology (n = 9), (b) Detection (n = 5), and (c) Role of Nurses and Physicians (n = 4). Higher priority cases were treated for immediate problems by physicians, but they did not routinely screen for delirium, which remained underdiagnosed. Lack of delirium screening guidelines or protocols was found to be the greatest barrier to detection. The ability of nurses to perform delirium screening was disregarded in most studies. There is limited research exploring delirium in Thai older adults, including lack of guidelines or protocols for health care professionals and lack of knowledge of delirium detection, management, and prevention. Further validation of screening tools and developing the training of health care professionals, specific to detecting delirium, is required.