“It's very challenging for everyone”: Developing an educational intervention to enhance care of hospitalized older adults with impaired cognition

Purpose To design and evaluate an educational intervention to enhance care of hospitalized older adults with impaired cognition. Method Pre- and post-focus groups were employed to design and evaluate the intervention. Results Four categories emerged from the pre-intervention focus groups: many knowledge gaps; reliance on outside expertise; limited involvement in care planning; and preferences for in-person training. Three categories emerged from the post-intervention focus groups: addressing learning needs/preferences; awareness and use of best practices; and many factors affect knowledge application. Conclusions The intervention resulted in self-reported improvements in knowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge into patient care.