Delirium in the Elderly: Analysis, Assessment, and Health Promotion Strategies

HEALTHCARE
AGEING IN SOCIETY

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of health issue of Delirium..........................................................................................2
Assessment and Services............................................................................................................3
Health Promotion.......................................................................................................................4
Communication..........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
Getting older is a natural phenomenon of life. As proposed by the World Health
Organization (WHO), different terms such as healthy aging, successful aging, and lately
active aging, are used to describe an aging process where there is a delay in the associated
negative consequences. Over the years, greater attention has been paid on the promotion of
longevity, dignity, together with a better quality of life, for the elderly age group. The
concept of healthy ageing is not only limited to the mere absence of diseases, but also
involves the efficient adaptations to the changes in life while maintaining the physical,
mental, and social wellbeing. Thus, the term healthy ageing is comprised of satisfactory old
age and the identification of the factors that lead towards the same. The following work
would shed light on the various aspects of delirium in the ageing phase of human beings. The
various facets such as issue, support services, health promotion strategies and the role of the
communication are elaborated taking the case study of Mr Novak as the central point of the
work.
Analysis of health issue of Delirium
Delirium is referred to as the common yet serious acute neuropsychiatric condition.
The syndrome is stated to be a brief and generally reversible cause of mental dysfunction.
The issue is recognised clinically characterised by numerous neuropsychiatric abnormalities.
The condition occurs usually in the patients who are elderly but is not limited to the said age
group and can also occur in individuals who have a previously compromised mental status.
The sense of decreased attention and awareness, together with a change in the baseline
cognition are stated to be the clinical hallmarks of the above condition (Alagiakrishnan,
2019). There are additionally associated wide range of triggering factors such as trauma,
acute illness, surgery, and drugs. The five core domains of delirium are stated to be cognitive
deficits, attentional deficits, circadian rhythm dysregulation, emotional dysregulation and
psychomotor dysregulation (Maldonado, 2017). In order to diagnose the syndrome a formal
cognitive assessment, together with the evaluation of the history of acute onset of symptoms
is necessary.
It is significant to note that though one factor can lead to the delirium, the occurrence
of the syndrome is multifactorial in elderly people. The development of the delirium can be
characterised by the complex inter-relationships between numerous predisposing factors or