Use of the supportive and palliative care indicators tool (SPICT™) for end-of-life discussions: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: In order to mitigate the distress associated with life limiting conditions it is essential for all health professionals not just palliative care specialists to identify people with deteriorating health and unmet palliative care needs and to plan care. The SPICT™ tool was designed to assist with this. AIM: The aim was to examine the impact of the SPICT™ on advance care planning conversations and the extent of its use in advance care planning for adults with chronic life-limiting illness. METHODS: In this scoping review records published between 2010 and 2024 reporting the use of the SPICT™, were included unless the study aim was to evaluate the tool for prognostication purposes. Databases searched were EBSCO Medline, PubMed, EBSCO CINAHL, APA Psych Info, ProQuest One Theses and Dissertations Global. RESULTS: From the search results 26 records were reviewed, including two systematic review, two theses and 22 primary research studies. Much of the research was derived from primary care settings. There was evidence that the SPICT™ assists conversations about advance care planning specifically discussion and documentation of advance care directives, resuscitation plans and preferred place of death. The SPICT™ is available in at least eight languages (many versions have been validated) and used in many countries. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the SPICT™ appears to assist advance care planning. It has yet to be widely used in acute care settings and has had limited use in countries beyond Europe. There is a need for further research to validate the tool in different languages.

Data cleaning for clinician researchers: Application and explanation of a data-quality framework.

BACKGROUND: Data cleaning is the series of procedures performed before a formal statistical analysis, with the aim of reducing the number of error values in a dataset and improving the overall quality of subsequent analyses. Several study-reporting guidelines recommend the inclusion of data-cleaning procedures; however, little practical guidance exists for how to conduct these procedures. OBJECTIVES: This paper aimed to provide practical guidance for how to perform and report rigorous data-cleaning procedures. METHODS: A previously proposed data-quality framework was identified and used to facilitate the description and explanation of data-cleaning procedures. The broader data-cleaning process was broken down into discrete tasks to create a data-cleaning checklist. Examples of the how the various tasks had been undertaken for a previous study using data from the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database were also provided. RESULTS: Data-cleaning tasks were described and grouped according to four data-quality domains described in the framework: data integrity, consistency, completeness, and accuracy. Tasks described include creation of a data dictionary, checking consistency of values across multiple variables, quantifying and managing missing data, and the identification and management of outlier values. The data-cleaning task checklist provides a practical summary of the various aspects of the data-cleaning process and will assist clinician researchers in performing this process in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Data cleaning is an integral part of any statistical analysis and helps ensure that study results are valid and reproducible. Use of the data-cleaning task checklist will facilitate the conduct of rigorous data-cleaning processes, with the aim of improving the quality of future research.

Development and validation of a risk score to predict unplanned hospital readmissions in ICU survivors: A data linkage study.

BACKGROUND: Intensive Care Unit (ICU) follow-up clinics are growing in popularity internationally; however, there is limited evidence as to which patients would benefit most from a referral to this service. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to develop and validate a model to predict which ICU survivors are most likely to experience an unplanned hospital readmission or death in the year after hospital discharge and derive a risk score capable of identifying high-risk patients who may benefit from referral to follow-up services. METHODS: A multicentre, retrospective observational cohort study using linked administrative data from eight ICUs was conducted in the state of New South Wales, Australia. A logistic regression model was developed for the composite outcome of death or unplanned readmission in the 12 months after discharge from the index hospitalisation. RESULTS: 12,862 ICU survivors were included in the study, of which 5940 (46.2%) patients experienced unplanned readmission or death. Strong predictors of readmission or death included the presence of a pre-existing mental health disorder (odds ratio [OR]: 1.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.40-1.65), severity of critical illness (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.39-1.76), and two or more physical comorbidities (OR: 2.39, 95% CI: 2.14-2.68). The prediction model demonstrated reasonable discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.67-0.69) and overall performance (scaled Brier score: 0.10). The risk score was capable of stratifying patients into three distinct risk groups-high (64.05% readmitted or died), medium (45.77% readmitted or died), and low (29.30% readmitted or died). CONCLUSIONS: Unplanned readmission or death is common amongst survivors of critical illness. The risk score presented here allows patients to be stratified by risk level, enabling targeted referral to preventative follow-up services.

A Survey of Community Nurses' Knowledge and Strategies Used to Relieve Breathlessness in People with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about community nurses' knowledge of breathlessness and its management in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). AIM: To explore the community registered nurses' knowledge of COPD and the strategies that they use to manage breathlessness in people with COPD. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study of community registered nurses was conducted using the 65-item Bristol COPD Knowledge Questionnaire and an open-ended item to outline breathlessness strategies. FINDINGS: A total of 59 nurses participated. The total mean Bristol COPD Knowledge Questionnaire Score was 43. The breathlessness category was the lowest scoring category. There were three themes that synthesised: the community nurse's role in monitoring self-management of medications to relieve breathlessness; the use of non-pharmacological strategies to relieve breathlessness; the nursing skills used to monitor breathlessness in people with COPD.

Barriers and enablers for safe medication administration in adult and neonatal intensive care units mapped to the behaviour change wheel.

BACKGROUND: Intensive care settings have high rates of medication administration errors. Medications are often administered by nurses and midwives using a specified process (the '5 rights'). Understanding where medication errors occur, the contributing factors and how best practice is delivered may assist in developing interventions to improve medication safety. AIMS: To identify medication administration errors and context specific barriers and enablers for best practice in an adult and a neonatal intensive care unit. Secondary aims were to identify intervention functions (through the Behaviour Change Wheel). STUDY DESIGN: A dual methods exploratory descriptive study was conducted (May to June 2021) in a mixed 56-bedded adult intensive care unit and a 6-bedded neonatal intensive care unit in Sydney, Australia. Incident monitoring data were examined. Direct semi-covert observational medication administration audits using the 5 rights (n = 39) were conducted. Brief interviews with patients, parents and nurses were conducted. Data were mapped to the Behaviour Change Wheel. RESULTS: No medication administration incidents were recorded. Audits (n = 3) for the neonatal intensive care unit revealed no areas for improvement. Adult intensive care unit nurses (n = 36) performed checks for the right medication 35 times (97%) and patient identity 25 times (69%). Sixteen administrations (44%) were interrupted. Four themes were synthesized from the interview data: Trust in the nursing profession; Availability of policies and procedures; Adherence to the '5 rights' and departmental culture; and Adequate staffing. The interventional functions most likely to bring about behaviour change were environmental restructuring, enablement, restrictions, education, persuasion and modelling. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals insights about the medication administration practices of nurses in intensive care. Although there were areas for improvement there was widespread awareness among nurses regarding their responsibilities to safely administer medications. Interview data indicated high levels of trust among patients and parents in the nurses. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This novel study indicated that nurses in intensive care are aware of their responsibilities to safely administer medications. Mapping of contextual data to the Behaviour Change Wheel resulted in the identification of Intervention functions most likely to change medication administration practices in the adult intensive care setting that is environmental restructuring, enablement, restrictions, education, persuasion and modelling.

Cognitive bias during clinical decision-making and its influence on patient outcomes in the emergency department: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: An integral part of clinical practice is decision-making. Yet there is widespread acceptance that there is evidence of cognitive bias within clinical practice among nurses and physicians. However, how cognitive bias among emergency nurses and physicians' decision-making influences patient outcomes remains unclear. AIM: The aim of this review was to systematically synthesise research exploring the emergency nurses' and physicians' cognitive bias in decision-making and its influence on patient outcomes. METHODS: This scoping review was guided by the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. The databases searched included CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science and PubMed. No date limits were applied. The Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendation (PAGER) framework was used to guide the discussion. RESULTS: The review included 18 articles, consisting of 10 primary studies (nine quantitative and one qualitative) and eight literature reviews. Of the 18 articles, nine investigated physicians, five articles examined nurses, and four both physicians and nurses with sample sizes ranging from 13 to 3547. Six primary studies were cross-sectional and five used hypothetical scenarios, and one real-world assessment. Three were experimental studies. Twenty-nine cognitive biases were identified with Implicit bias (n = 12) most frequently explored, followed by outcome bias (n = 4). Results were inconclusive regarding the influence of biases on treatment decisions and patient outcomes. Four key themes were identified; (i) cognitive biases among emergency clinicians; (ii) measurement of cognitive bias; (iii) influence of cognitive bias on clinical decision-making; and (iv) association between emergency clinicians' cognitive bias and patient outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This review identified that cognitive biases were present among emergency nurses and physicians during clinical decision-making, but it remains unclear how cognitive bias influences patient outcomes. Further research examining emergency clinicians' cognitive bias is required. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Awareness of emergency clinicians' own cognitive biases may result to the provision of equity in care. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION IN THIS REVIEW: We intend to disseminate the results through publication in a peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

Does improving sleep for the critically ill reduce the incidence and duration of delirium? An evidence-based review.

Delirium is associated with poor patient outcome. Critical-care nurses maintain that patients with disrupted sleep appear to develop delirium. We sought to explore whether improving sleep in the critically ill patients reduced the incidence and duration of delirium. Our review of five relevant studies suggests that there is low-quality evidence that improving sleep may reduce the incidence of delirium. The bidirectional association between delirium and sleep stymies research in this area, and thus, establishing cause and effect, is difficult. Research exploring other patient-centred outcomes, such as pain intensity, suggests that enhancing sleep may improve these outcomes.

Causes, Consequences, and Treatments of Sleep and Circadian Disruption in the ICU: An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement.

Background: Sleep and circadian disruption (SCD) is common and severe in the ICU. On the basis of rigorous evidence in non-ICU populations and emerging evidence in ICU populations, SCD is likely to have a profound negative impact on patient outcomes. Thus, it is urgent that we establish research priorities to advance understanding of ICU SCD. Methods: We convened a multidisciplinary group with relevant expertise to participate in an American Thoracic Society Workshop. Workshop objectives included identifying ICU SCD subtopics of interest, key knowledge gaps, and research priorities. Members attended remote sessions from March to November 2021. Recorded presentations were prepared and viewed by members before Workshop sessions. Workshop discussion focused on key gaps and related research priorities. The priorities listed herein were selected on the basis of rank as established by a series of anonymous surveys. Results: We identified the following research priorities: establish an ICU SCD definition, further develop rigorous and feasible ICU SCD measures, test associations between ICU SCD domains and outcomes, promote the inclusion of mechanistic and patient-centered outcomes within large clinical studies, leverage implementation science strategies to maximize intervention fidelity and sustainability, and collaborate among investigators to harmonize methods and promote multisite investigation. Conclusions: ICU SCD is a complex and compelling potential target for improving ICU outcomes. Given the influence on all other research priorities, further development of rigorous, feasible ICU SCD measurement is a key next step in advancing the field.

Association Between Preexisting Mental Health Disorders and Adverse Outcomes in Adult Intensive Care Patients: A Data Linkage Study.

OBJECTIVES: Mental illness is known to adversely affect the physical health of patients in primary and acute care settings; however, its impact on critically ill patients is less well studied. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of patients admitted to the ICU with a preexisting mental health disorder. DESIGN: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study using linked data from electronic ICU clinical progress notes and the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Adult Patient Database. SETTING/PATIENTS: All patients admitted to eight Australian adult ICUs in the calendar year 2019. Readmissions within the same hospitalization were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Natural language processing techniques were used to classify preexisting mental health disorders in participants based on clinician documentation in electronic ICU clinical progress notes. Sixteen thousand two hundred twenty-eight patients (58% male) were included in the study, of which 5,044 (31.1%) had a documented preexisting mental health disorder. Affective disorders were the most common subtype occurring in 2,633 patients (16.2%), followed by anxiety disorders, occurring in 1,611 patients (9.9%). Mixed-effects regression modeling found patients with a preexisting mental health disorder stayed in ICU 13% longer than other patients (ß-coefficient, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.10-0.15) and were more likely to experience invasive ventilation (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.30-1.56). Severity of illness and ICU mortality rates were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with preexisting mental health disorders form a significant subgroup within the ICU. The presence of a preexisting mental health disorder is associated with greater ICU length of stay and higher rates of invasive ventilation, suggesting these patients may have a different clinical trajectory to patients with no mental health history. Further research is needed to better understand the reasons for these adverse outcomes and to develop interventions to better support these patients during and after ICU admission.

Sensitivity and specificity of proposed Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire cut-off scores for good quality sleep during an ICU stay.

BACKGROUND: The 5-visual analogue scale Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire subjective sleep measure is widely used in intensive care. A cut-off score indicative of good quality sleep has not been established and is required to guide the categorisation of individual patient and unit wide sleep quality. DESIGN AND METHODS: The aim was to determine the global Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire cut-off score for good to very good sleep during an intensive care unit stay in non-ventilated patients. The study was a secondary (cohort) retrospective analysis of patient self-report data (n = 32) from an interventional study testing a sleep promotion bundle. The Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy studies statement were used to report the study. The study was conducted in two mixed adult 12 and 20-bed ICUs of a tertiary referral hospital in a metropolitan area. In the morning, eligible patients were administered the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire together with a 5-category item Likert scale in which patients rated their nocturnal sleep quality as 'very poor', 'poor', 'fair', 'good' and 'very good'. Receiver Operator Curve analysis was performed. RESULTS: Thirty-seven per cent (n = 32) of the total sample of 84 adult intensive care patients were females. The median age was 61.5 (51, 72) years. Self-reported median global Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire score was 54.4 (30.1, 77.1) mm. A global score of ≥63.4 mm was the optimal cut-off for self-reported 'good sleep' (sensitivity: 87%, specificity: 81% and area under the curve: 0.896). CONCLUSIONS: Although the study requires replication in ventilated patients and other ICU settings, the cut-off score (63 mm) could be used to guide the categorisation of individual patient and unit wide sleep quality.

Fallen angels and forgotten heroes: A descriptive qualitative study exploring the impact of the angel and hero narrative on critical care nurses.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of the labels 'heroes' and 'angels' to describe nurses (and especially critical care nurses) became prevalent. While often well intentioned, the use of these labels may not be the most positive image of nurses and the nursing profession. Critical care nurses have not previously been given the opportunity to provide their perceptions of the angel/hero narrative and the impact this may have on their practice and working environments. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to explore the perspectives of critical care nurses and discover their perceptions about the angel/hero narrative and its impact on their clinical practice, safe working environments, and professional development during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A semistructured qualitative virtual interview study was conducted with critical care nurses from the United Kingdom, Australia, and North America. Digital audio data were transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of the transcribed data was performed. The COREQ guidelines were used to report the study. FINDINGS: Twenty-three critical care nurses located in the United Kingdom, Australia, and North America participated. Four themes were synthesised: history repeating, gender stereotypes, political pawns, and forgotten heroes. CONCLUSIONS: Critical care nurses did not perceive the hero and angel labels positively. Participants were concerned about unrealistic expectations, potential safety workplace risks, and poor remuneration related to these narratives. Participants perceived that context and intention were important in the interpretation of these narratives; they spoke with pride about their work and called for improved representations of their role, recognition, and work conditions.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on critical care healthcare professionals' work practices and wellbeing: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Burnout and other psychological comorbidities were evident prior to the COVID-19 pandemic for critical care healthcare professionals (HCPs) who have been at the forefront of the health response. Current research suggests an escalation or worsening of these impacts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to undertake an in-depth exploration of the impact of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of HCPs working in critical care. METHODS: This was a qualitative study using online focus groups (n = 5) with critical care HCPs (n = 31, 7 medical doctors and 24 nurses) in 2021: one with United Kingdom-based participants (n = 11) and four with Australia-based participants (n = 20). Thematic analysis of qualitative data from focus groups was performed using Gibbs framework. FINDINGS: Five themes were synthesised: transformation of anxiety and fear throughout the pandemic, the burden of responsibility, moral distress, COVID-19 intruding into all aspects of life, and strategies and factors that sustained wellbeing during the pandemic. Moral distress was a dominant feature, and intrusiveness of the pandemic into all aspects of life was a novel finding. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted critical care HCPs and their work experience and wellbeing. The intrusiveness of the pandemic into all aspects of life was a novel finding. Moral distress was a predominate feature of their experience. Leaders of healthcare organisations should ensure that interventions to improve and maintain the wellbeing of HCPs are implemented.

Exploration of a rapid response team model of care: A descriptive dual methods study.

BACKGROUND: Avoidable in-patient clinical deterioration results in serious adverse events and up to 80% are preventable. Rapid response systems allow early recognition and response to clinical deterioration. OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of a collaborative rapid response team model. DESIGN: Dual methodology was used for this descriptive study. SETTING: The study was conducted in a 500-bed tertiary referral hospital (Sydney, Australia). PARTICIPANTS: Inpatients (>17 years) who received a rapid response team activation were included in an electronic medical audit. Participants were rapid response team members and nurses and medical doctors in two in-patient wards. METHODS: A 12-month (January-December 2018) retrospective electronic health record audit and semi-structured interviews with nurses and medical doctors (July-August 2019) were conducted. Descriptive statistics summarised audit data. Interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically. RESULTS: The rapid response team consulted for 2195 patients. Mean patient age was 67.9 years, and 46% of the sample was female. Activations (n = 4092) occurred most often in general medicine (n = 1124, 70.8%) units. Overall, 117 patients had >5 activations. The themes synthesised from interviews were i) managing patient deterioration before arrival of the rapid response team; ii) collaboratively managing patient deterioration at the bedside; iii) rapid response team guidance at the bedside; and iv) 'staff concern' rapid response activation. CONCLUSIONS: Some patients received many activations, however few required treatment in critical care. The rapid response model was collaborative and supportive. The themes revealed a focus on patient safety, optimising early detection, and management of patient deterioration.

Australian critical care nurses' knowledge, preparedness, and experiences of managing SARS-COV-2 and COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has again highlighted the crucial role of healthcare workers in case management, disease surveillance, policy development, and healthcare education and training. The ongoing pandemic demonstrates the importance of having an emergency response plan that accounts for the safety of frontline healthcare workers, including those working in critical care settings. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to explore Australian critical care nurses' knowledge, preparedness, and experiences of managing patients diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19. METHODS: An exploratory cross-sectional study of Australian critical care nurses was conducted between June and September 2020. An anonymised online survey was sent to Australian College of Critical Care Nurses' members to collect information about their knowledge, preparedness, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise and report data. RESULTS: A total of 157 critical care nurses participated, with 138 fully complete surveys analysed. Most respondents reported 'good' to 'very good' level of knowledge about COVID-19 and obtained up-to-date COVID-19 information from international and local sources. Regarding managing patients with COVID-19, 82.3% felt sufficiently prepared at the time of data collection, and 93.4% had received specific education, training, or instruction. Most participants were involved in assessing (89.3%) and treating (92.4%) patients with COVID-19. Varying levels of concerns about SARS-CoV-2 infection were expressed by respondents, and 55.7% thought the pandemic had increased their workload. The most frequent concerns expressed by participants were a lack of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and fear of PPE shortage. CONCLUSIONS: While most nurses expressed sufficient preparedness for managing COVID-19 patients, specific education had been undertaken and experiential learning was evident. Fears of insufficient or lack of appropriate PPE made the response more difficult for nurses and the community. Preparedness and responsiveness are critical to successful management of the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases.

Critical care health professionals' self-reported needs for wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A thematic analysis of survey responses.

BACKGROUND: Critical care healthcare professionals are a key part of any pandemic response and are at an increased risk for physical and psychological harm, yet their self-reported suggestions to ameliorate the negative effects of pandemics on their wellbeing have rarely been sought. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore and interpret themes of critical care healthcare professionals' responses to the question 'What do you think could assist your wellbeing during the COVID-19 crisis?' METHODS: A descriptive study using an online survey, performed in April 2020, investigating pandemic preparedness and psychological burden during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic among critical care professionals was carried out. Informal snowball sampling was used. Thematic analysis of qualitative data from an open-ended survey item was informed by Braun and Clark. FINDINGS: Eighty percent (2387/3770) of respondents completed the open-ended survey. Three themes were generated from the synthesis: adequate resourcing for the role; consistent, clear information, and prioritised communications; and the need for genuine kindness and provision of support for healthcare professional wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: There is merit for considering the perceptions, concerns, and suggestions of critical care clinicians during a pandemic. Suggestions included simple measures to maintain physical and mental health, clear messaging, consistent information, trust in health and political leaders, supportive working environments, specific training, and allowances for personal circumstances. This information is important for health and political leaders and policy makers to implement strategies to reduce the burden associated with delivering care in the context of a pandemic.

Interventions for the discharge of older people to their home from the emergency department: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Clinicians have limited evidence on which to base their practice to effectively discharge older people from emergency. The aim of the review was to assess the effectiveness of interventions used for the discharge of older people from the emergency department to their home in the community by emergency clinicians. METHODS: The PRISMA guidelines were followed. The search comprised seven databases including CINAHL Complete, Medline and EMBASE, and additionally unpublished literature sources including trial registries and theses databases. The results were presented for three outcomes: mortality; emergency department representation after the index visit; and physical function. A narrative analysis was performed. RESULTS: Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria; 13 RCTs and 12 quasi-experimental. Risk of bias was moderate to high. There was a trend towards reduced probability of representing to the emergency department within 3 months of the index visit for individualised focussed elder discharge health interventions. Results were equivocal for other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Greater clarity and consensus is needed to determine the most appropriate discharge measures, screening tools, information sources and discharge roles for the emergency setting. Rigorous multicentre trials to improve the evidence on which to base this aspect of emergency care are required.

The role and contribution of family carers accompanying community-living older people with cognitive impairment to the emergency department: An interview study.

BACKGROUND: Older people with cognitive impairment may have lack of understanding of their health and ability to co-ordinate care needs. Family carers play a key role in supporting older people but the role of family carers in emergency discharge has not been explored well. OBJECTIVE: To explore and describe the role and contribution of family carers accompanying the older person with cognitive impairment to the emergency department. DESIGN: A exploratory descriptive study was conducted in which telephone interviews were performed. SETTING: Three emergency departments located in metropolitan Sydney, Australia; two major tertiary referral centres and one district hospital. The EQUATOR research checklist (COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research) (COREQ) was used to report the qualitative study. SUBJECTS: Participants were family carers accompanying people aged ≥64 years with cognitive impairment; with non-urgent triage classifications; English speaking and eligible for discharge home. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted 2 to 4 weeks after the older person was discharged. Data were reflexively thematically analysed in NVIVO independently by three researchers. RESULTS: Twenty-eight interviews were conducted. Three key themes were evident: (1) 'communicating knowledge of the older person's health status and usual behaviour'; (2) 'providing advocacy, translation, surrogacy and care co-ordination'; and (3) 'ensuring safe transition from the emergency department to home'. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings detailed how family carers created an important safety net while the older person was in emergency, through advocacy and the communication of vital health information. More importantly, their knowledge influenced the healthcare management of the older person and ensured safe discharge and co-ordination of care in the community. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The study identified for older persons with cognitive impairment a safe stay in the ED and transition home from hospital was supported by family carers and assisted to ensure that discharge information was understood and adhered to optimise wellbeing and prevent adverse outcomes. The findings of this study can inform discharge processes for nurses, nurse practitioners and doctors. Additionally, processes to support family carer engagement would optimise older person compliance and better inform healthcare decision-making and choice for older peoples, family carers. The findings of the study should inform discharge processes to minimise risk of readmission, financial burden and harm.

Short-term physical health effects of sleep disruptions attributed to the acute hospital environment: a systematic review.

The sleep disruption experienced by patients admitted to hospital may have a negative effect on health but the nature and magnitude of the effect has not been conclusively outlined. The review was designed to examine the impact of sleep disruption associated with being a hospital inpatient, on short-term physical health outcomes in adult patients. Searches comprised journal databases, gray literature sources, and backward and forward citation searching. Two reviewers independently screened the records. Original studies of adult hospitalized patients' sleep were included if physical outcomes were also measured. Interventional studies were excluded. The methodological quality was assessed independently by 2 reviewers using CASP checklists. Sleep assessment measures and results, physical outcomes and contextual data were extracted. Results were synthesized according to frequently reported outcomes: delirium, pain intensity, physical strength, and respiratory function. A meta-analysis was not performed; studies were heterogeneous and reporting was limited. Of 9919 retrieved records, 26 published studies were included (published: 2001-2020). Risk of bias was moderately high. Confounding factors were poorly reported. Total sleep time was either normal or reduced. Sleep was disrupted: arousal indices were high (mean: 0 5-21/h); slow wave sleep proportions were limited. Subjective sleep quality was poor. The association between sleep reduction or disruption and short-term health outcomes was negative, mixed or equivocal and included increased delirium, higher pain intensity, poorer strength, and adverse respiratory function. The impact of sleep disruption on outcomes for hospitalized patients is not well defined.