Nurses, older people and hospitals: meeting new challenges.

Funded Activity Summary

This project addresses an area of pressing international concern- how to improve health care provision in acute care hospitals to a growing group of patients, people aged 85 years and over. It is known that people 85 years and over have complex health needs. It is also known that older people typically do not do well in hospital. In fact, there is often a decline in their health following hospitalisation. The need to cope with older and often sicker patients will continue to place, substantial pressure on the acute hospital system and those who work in it. The Registered Nurse [RN], as a part of the health care team, has a pivotal role in providing and coordinating the care that people 85 and over require while in hospital. Yet, little is known about the problems that RNs face in providing care to people 85 and over in hospital. The aim of this project is to identify the problems that impact upon RNs in the provision of care to people 85 years and over and find innovative solutions to those problems. In so doing, the final project recommendations will address ways to assist RNs to enhance the care of people 85 and over in hospital, and at the same time enhance the professional working life of RNs. These recommendations will feed into health and aged care policy development, and the educational preparation of nurses, and thus will have relevance at an individual, organisational, and policy level.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2005

End Date: 01-01-2007

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $462,500.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Aged Care Nursing

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

Aged Care | Hospital Care | Hospitals | Nursing | Older People | Older Persons | Qualitative Research | Registered Nurses

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