“An exploration of the lived experience of older people who received an Intentional Compassionate Communication Intervention (ICCI) while in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department”
Authors: Paglioni, M., Ellis-Hill, C., Board, M., Branney, J. and Valentine, J.
Conference: British Society of Gerontology 48th annual conference
Abstract:BACKGROUND: The number of older people using hospital emergency services is dramatically increasing (The Health Foundation 2018). Older patients often experience the A&E admission as a very stressful experience. In 2016 this has driven the development of a specific Intentional Compassionate Communication Intervention (ICCI) by the Dementia Care Team of a district hospital. The ICCI is used in their A&E to reduce older patient’s anxiety. Using effective communication skills rather than clinical ones –this is what makes the intervention so novel- a member of staff demonstrates compassion and empathy to the older patient. Meeting those patients’ psychological needs is important also because literature indicates that long and particularly stressful A&E experiences are associated with higher risk of developing delirium in older patients (Bo et al, 2016) and compassionate care seems to reduce patients distress (Gilbert and Procter 2006). AIMS: 1-To explore and understand the emotional, lived experience of a sample of vulnerable older patients (65 and over) admitted to the A&E of a district hospital; 2-To understand how the delivery of ICCI –Intentional Compassionate Communication Intervention- influences that experience
Source: Manual