Cognitive Stimulation to the Elderly in Intensive Care as a Nursing Care

Abstract

Introduction: The critical environment and the routine within these units are comprised of factors that can impair the maintenance of cognition. Accordingly, interventions guided towards cognitive stimulation in the Intensive Care Units become a priority and the nursing team stands out in the execution of these interventions, once it is the category that has the greatest participation in the care of the elderly patient. Objective: To identify nursing care aimed at cognitive stimulation of elderly people in intensive care. Method: Qualitative study carried out in two intensive care units of a hospital in Salvador-Bahia-Brazil, between December 2019 an February 2020. The collection took place in two phases: medical records of elderly people hospitalized in one of the units, focus group with the nursing team of both units. Bardin analysis was used. Results: Six categories were identified, 1) nursing care related to mechanical restraint due to agitation and risk of falling; 2) family related nursing care; 3) nursing care for self-care; 4) nursing care for communication and orientation regarding time and space; 5) nursing care for sleep and rest; and 6) nursing care in pain management. Conclusion: The nursing team performs actions to stimulate cognition, but in a punctual way, from spontaneous and individual motivations, little recorded in medical records. It is important to develop educational strategies and develop protocols to improve care practice in Intensive Care Units related to the cognitive stimulation of the elderly.