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As we age, our chances of developing cognitive disorders increase. For many Australians, delirium and/or dementia are harsh realities of ageing. Delirium has immediate and long-term consequences for patients during and following hospitalisation, including high levels of distress, increased risk of falls and longer hospital stays. The cost of care is more than double for patients who develop delirium in hospital, compared to those who don’t.
In order to help build understanding about delirium and how to better care for people most at risk, Dr Annmarie Hosie is leading innovative programs of research that focus on the prevention, assessment and treatment of delirium for people with advanced illness. Her research also explores ways to support active and ethical participation in research by older people with delirium and/or dementia.
To increase awareness of the serious adverse impacts of delirium, in 2018 the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care listed it as a hospital-acquired complication and developed the Delirium Clinical Care Standard. Dr Hosie’s research is aligned with this national agenda, and includes a world-first pilot cluster randomised controlled trial to determine the feasibility of a non-pharmacological delirium prevention intervention for patients in palliative care units. The next step in her research is to test the intervention for people with advanced illness in a larger (phase 3) trial to establish its effectiveness.
In acknowledgement of her research, Dr Hosie was nominated for a BUPA Emerging Health Research Award. She was one of four outstanding shortlisted nominees who received a commendation award of $1000.
The BUPA award will support Dr Hosie to continue her research for people with advanced illness at risk of delirium and to disseminate the results internationally.
To find out more about this research, contact: annmarie.hosie@uts.edu.au