東條, 衣里子

TOUJYOU, Eriko

[Abstract] The purpose of this study is to elucidate the difficulties for visiting nurses in caring for aged people who experience the onset of delirium. Self-administered, anonymous questionnaires were mailed to all 293 home nursing stations in A prefecture asking visiting nurses who have cared for aged people (age 65 and older) with delirium to fill them out. The response rate was 14.3％, with 42 questionnaires returned. Descriptive statistical analysis and qualitative content analysis of the obtained data were performed. Results show that most respondents (22) cared for“1-3”elderly people who utilize home-visit nursing care stations to which they belong and had exhibited symptoms of delirium in the last year. The majority of the most difficult cases (14) were aged 80 to 84. Most of the respondents (37) stated that the clients had experienced the onset of delirium at home, and“restlessness”was the most common symptom reported (31). The most cited cause for the onset of delirium was dementia (21). Respondents were also asked to describe the difficulties they faced when caring for clients with delirium. The responses were categorized into the 3 categories of “prevention and improvement of delirium”,“support for family caregivers”and“appropriate assessment of delirium”. From the above, it is clear that there are aged people living at home who experience the onset of delirium. This suggests the necessity of considering methods that could be used by visiting nurses to support them while acknowledging the special circumstances of home medical care.