The Use of Non-ICU Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) for Delirium Management

Presenter and Co-Authors

Stephanie Barendt, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
John Sharon Hudson, Old Dominion University

College

College of Health Sciences

Department

Nursing

Graduate Level

Doctoral

Graduate Program/Concentration

Nurse Executive

Publication Date

2023

DOI

10.25883/e75m-c493

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect the use of the non-intensive care unit confusion assessment method (non-ICU CAM) as an early screening tool for delirium would have on the nursing practice of medical surgical nurses. This quasi-experimental study focused on early screening and prevention training of inpatient nurses caring for adult inpatients to proactively reduce episodes of delirium. The training included an educational video on how to perform the non-ICU CAM assessment, 4 scenarios to test knowledge on scoring patient, and techniques for reducing delirium if patient is positive. After one month of multimodal training for the nursing staff, there was statistically significant differences between the results of the pre- and post-intervention surveys. Overall, this study determined that the training and use of non-ICU CAM for had a positive impact on the nursing staff in relation to their ability to manage overall identification of delirium in their patients and management of their care. The findings of this study were: the improvement in the nurses’ beliefs within their own practice with a 12.5% increase in their self-efficacy scores, 29.8% improvement in the intention of assessing their patients for delirium, 17.5% improvement in their perceived social norm within their peers, and 11.9% improvement in their attitudes in managing the care of patients with delirium. This study aimed to address two major gaps in what literature suggests as evidence-based practice and what is the current nursing workflows: a gap in nurse knowledge and a gap in clinical practice. This study contributes to the advancement in the practice of nurses outside of the intensive care units in identifying delirium through patient symptom analysis and improve nurses’ coping and management of challenging patient behaviors related to delirium.

Keywords

Delirium, Nursing

Disciplines

Nursing Administration | Other Nursing | Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing

Files

Recommended Citation

Barendt, Stephanie and Hudson, John Sharon, "The Use of Non-ICU Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) for Delirium Management" (2023). College of Health Sciences Posters. 10.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gradposters2023_healthsciences/10