Evaluating Improvement in the Care of Depressed Elderly Patients: An Empirical Approach to the WHO Patient Safety Model

Experiencing depression is NOT a part of the aging process. However, depression among the elderly has been a public health issue in the worldwide. It can strike as a result of life stressors or vascular medical issues. Early detection and immediate treatment can bring recovery.

This paper demonstrated the value of patient safety research for future strategies in this area. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the World Health Organization (WHO) Patient Safety (PS) Model and empirical research on depressed elderly patients’ experiences of quality and safe care. The research question was: Which patients’ experiences could be linked to quality and safe care as recommended by the WHO?

The author adopted an implementation approach as the starting point for this interdisciplinary project. Data were collected over a four year period by the research team in Norway. The participants were recruited by mental health nurses/stakeholders working with the target group. The major area covered in the interviews was the patients’ experiences of quality and safe care. A total of 29 individual narrative-based, in-depth interviews were performed to explore patients’ experiences and two healthcare teams participated in the focus group interviews.

Interpretation of the results revealed that the 23 components of the PS model were linked to elderly patients’ experiences of quality and that safe care was not achieved. There was evidence of low quality and lack of safe care due to psychological distress, stress and fatigue, the absence of involvement in decision-making, misdiagnosis, sleep problems as a result of harm from medical error and a poor physical state. Patients’ experiences of loneliness gave rise to suicidal thoughts.

In conclusion, quality improvement is necessary in all components of the WHO PS model. The evidence in the present study demonstrates some positive associations. However, there are also indications that patients are dissatisfied with the care due to lack of information and poor communication. Patient involvement such as shared decision-making will increase the quality and safety of care.

Article by Elisabeth Severinsson and Anne Lise Holm, from Norway.

Full access: http://t.cn/EcHo3ui

Image by Eric Wilson, from Flickr-cc.