Hospital Elder Life Program: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Hshieh, T. T., Yang, T., et al. (2018).
American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(10), 1015-1033.
This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of The Hospital Elder Life Program, a multicomponent nonpharmacological intervention designed to prevent delirium and cognitive decline in hospitalized older adults.
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health; Milton and Shirley F. Levy Family Chair at Hebrew SeniorLife/Harvard Medical School
<div>The data in this systematic review are included in another document which can be found in the Associated Article section below. </div>
1999-2017
Randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials
14
<div>Five studies examined change in functional or cognitive status with the majority reporting stable or improved cognition after implementation of The Hospital Elder Life Program, a multicomponent delirium prevention program, for hospitalized adults at risk for delirium. Core components of this intervention include: </div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">orientation,</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">cognitive stimulation,</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"> protocols for sleep enhancement, </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">early mobilization, </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">vision and hearing adaptation (e.g., access to hearing aids and/or glasses and visual aids),</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"> fluid repletion, and </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;">feeding assistance. </span></li>
</ul>
<div><span style="color: #333333;">Meta-analysis was not completed due to the heterogeneity across studies. Other significant meta-analytic findings included: a 53% reduction in delirium (odds ratio: 0.47; 95% CI, 0.37–0.59), a 42% reduction in falls (odds ratio: 0.58, 95% CI 0.35–0.95), and nonsignificant trends for reduced length of stay (mean difference: -0.24; 95% CI −0.95–0.48) for hospitalized older adults.</span></div>
