Abstract
The purpose of this pilot study was to prospectively explore the feasibility of engaging family caregivers to electronically report observations of delirium symptoms in community-dwelling older adults with dementia. This study also sought to assess the ability to recruit and retain participants, gauge satisfaction with computerized communication using personal computers or smart phones and describe agreement between family observations of delirium (Family Confusion Assessment Method [FAM-CAM]) and researcher assessments (Confusion Assessment Method [CAM]). Family caregivers accessed an electronic delirium assessment instrument via their personal computer or a study supplied smart phone daily to transmit data. Compliance with daily data transmission of the FAM-CAM was 77%. The family caregivers were generally satisfied with the technology and the task of answering the assessment questions. Out of a total of 13 participants, there were 7 confirmed episodes of delirium in 3 participants in this study. Overall, the CAM and FAM-CAM scores were positively correlated at 0.856 using the Pearson Correlation statistic (p=0.01).
| Original language | English |
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| Article number | 1274 |
| Journal | Online Journal of Nursing Informatics |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 2012 |