Nurses’ interventions for frail older adults at emergency rooms : A literature review

Background: Frail older adults are a large group of patients with complex needs in emergency rooms. Frailty is a composition of various states of health where a visit to an emergency room yields an increased risk of negative outcomes and impaired quality of life. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to describe nurses’ interventions and factors effecting their work to meet the needs of frail older adults in emergency rooms. Method: This bachelor’s thesis is a structured literature review with elements of the methodology being used for systematic reviews. The databases used for the article search were CINAHL and PubMed where 17 articles were included. Results: In the result two main categories emerged: nurses’ interventions and factors that effect nurses´ work with a total of six subcategories: to use screening tools, to coordinate efforts, preventive actions, attitudes, lacking knowledge and competence and challenges in the work environment. Conclusions: The results show a need for increased knowledge about frail older adults and positive effects when using screening tools in emergency rooms. The results also show that frail older adults’ complex needs require coordinated multidisciplinary working structures to reach good person-centered care.