Hospital Elder Life Program: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Effectiveness

Abstract

The Hospital Elder Life Program is effective in reducing incidence of delirium and rate of falls, with a trend toward decreasing length of stay and preventing institutionalization. With ongoing efforts in continuous program improvement, implementation, adaptations, and sustainability, HELP has emerged as a reference standard model for improving the quality and effectiveness of hospital care for older persons worldwide.

The effect of volunteers’ care and support on the health outcomes of older adults in acute care: A systematic scoping review

“…The HELP, now implemented successfully around the world, has been shown to improve the quality of care and health outcomes for hospitalised older adults. Positive outcomes include: maintaining cognitive and physical functioning of high‐risk patients during hospitalisation, maximising independence at discharge, assisting with the transition from hospital to home and preventing unplanned hospital readmissions (Hshieh, Yang, Gartaganis, Yue, & Inouye, ; Steunenberg, van der Mast, Strijbos, Inouye, & Schuurmans, ).…”

Delirium in the Emergency Department: Moving From Tool‐Based Research to System‐Wide Change

“…This is increasingly important as patients endure longer ED lengths of stay as part of observation stays, ED boarding during periods of crowding, or simply more complex ED workups. Nonpharmacologic multicomponent delirium prevention strategies, such as the Hospital Elder Life Program, reduce both delirium incidence and inpatient fall rates, and may reduce length of hospital stay and need for institutionalization at discharge . Many elements of these delirium prevention programs—avoidance of delirium‐provoking medications, vision and hearing augmentation, and mobility and sleep enhancement—can be delivered to patients while they are in the ED or ED observation units.…”

The effect of intravenous and inhalational maintenance of anaesthesia on postoperative cognitive outcomes in elderly people

“…We read with interest the recent editorial ‘Caring for the ageing mind’ accompanying the Association of Anaesthetists’ new guidelines on the peri‐operative care of people with dementia . Currently, attention is focused on ‘bundles’ of care (such as that supported by the hospital elder life program initiatives) , and influenced by clinicians’ reliance on pharmacological interventions which have been shown to be ineffective, and may even be harmful . Scott and Evered also note that it is still uncertain as to which anaesthetic technique is better in people with cognitive impairment, accepting that it is desirable to provide anaesthesia while minimising the physiological, as well as the psychological, stress and allowing a rapid recovery of cognition .…”