Understanding the assessment process on a ward for older people
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding the assessment process on an inpatient ward for older people; a constructivist grounded theory.
IRAS ID
138959
Contact name
Hanneke Wiltjer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Warwick
Research summary
Aim: To describe and understand the process of assessing patients who are admitted to a ward for older people.
Background: Multi-dimensional standardised assessments (MSAs) are mentioned in international and national guidelines as a useful tool in the delivery of care to older people. Assessments are done during a patient’s admission in different ways by all health care professionals to get a clear understanding of the patients’ health status and to provide a basis for meeting their complex and unique needs. Studies of MSAs have been summarized in over twenty literature reviews and meta-analyses (combined results from studies) since 1991. Outcomes have varied, with some of the meta-analyses finding statistically significant positive patient outcomes for MSAs. Other purposes of MSAs, such as planning and coordination of care or reducing duplication of care among professionals, have not yet been studied. Despite the literature's interest in the effects of MSAs on patient outcomes and the suggested use of MSAs by for instance the UK’s Department of Health, these assessments are not integrated in daily practice within UK hospitals. As the absence of MSAs does not mean the absence of assessment, it remains unclear how and by whom the current assessment process is structured, shaped, and provided on the hospital wards. Additionally, the reasons why is it done in a certain way are unknown, as well as what patients, their carers, and health care professionals think about it.
Methods: The researcher will observe the assessment process on an inpatient ward for older people. She will also conduct interviews and review patients’ notes. A qualitative analysis will be undertaken to generate a conceptual framework to explain the current assessment practice on a ward for older people.
REC name
West Midlands - Coventry & Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/WM/1070
Date of REC Opinion
3 Sep 2014
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion