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Dementia palliative care in the acute psychiatric hospital: A feasibility study
Author(s) -
Gentry Melanie T.,
Clark Matthew M.,
Ryan Susan M.,
Rummans Teresa A.,
Lapid Maria I.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
perspectives in psychiatric care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1744-6163
pISSN - 0031-5990
DOI - 10.1111/ppc.12473
Subject(s) - dementia , palliative care , medicine , intervention (counseling) , psychiatry , population , intensive care medicine , nursing , disease , environmental health
Purpose We explored the feasibility of a clinical pathway to identify hospitalized patients with dementia who would benefit from a palliative intervention. Design and Methods Consecutive geropsychiatric admissions were screened for terminal dementia to be randomized to a palliative consultation vs usual care. Findings A total of 43 of the 188 patients (23%) had dementia; however, dementia stages were severe but not terminal. The pathway was not feasible because of the lack of the target population in the inpatient setting for the intervention. Practice Implications New clinical pathways are needed to identify patients with dementia who would benefit from palliative care.