Many seniors, especially when they are hospitalized, are at risk for developing delirium. This risk increases when there is any cognitive, functional, visual, or hearing impairments. Delirium has been a problem for a long time, but a study suggests that storytelling may reduce delirium.
Dangers of Delirium
We’ve talked about the dangers of delirium before. It’s a constant struggle for patients and doctors alike.
But a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham says that storytelling and poetry can help reduce delirium. This type of art based experiences are designed to help with healing.
There’s no proven medication to help prevent delirium, the only real option is preventative. This means making sure a senior’s mental and physical well-being is good before hospitalization.
Storytelling May Reduce Delirium
The study evaluated the association between a bedside storytelling told by artists in residence and changes in the levels of cognitive dysfunction in hospitalized seniors.
The study had 50 patients that were 65 or older. It was done in the UAV ACE unit at UAB Highlands Hospital in 2016. 2 artists in residences who were part of UAB’s Insitute for Arts in Medicine, visited patients once for 15 minutes. Each visit involved storytelling or poetry.
Patients were asked if they would like to hear a story or poem and could choose what kind. The visit was designed to be interactive. The patients were able to reflect on the tale and share stories about their own lives.
The experience of delirium screening scores and patient satisfaction was evaluated and found that storytelling/poetry was tied to lower delirium scores at discharge. The result remains large after adjusting for age, baseline cognitive impairment, and general well-being.
Arts in Medicine
Arts in medicine programs have become popular in patient centered approaches. The goal is to improve health related quality of life for patients in hospitals. This type of programming has showed that different ways of healing is just as effective as traditional healing ideas.
Read more here.