What do elderly people do in hospital?
1996; Wiley; Volume: 5; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1365-2702.1996.tb00246.x
ISSN1365-2702
Autores Tópico(s)Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
ResumoSummary Current health‐care reforms have sharpened the focus on efficiency of bed usage; one useful method of exploring this concept is to determine how patients spend their time in hospital. This small study explored how 23 elderly patients spent their time on two elderly care wards. A time‐sampling, patient‐focused, structured observation method was employed to observe the patients. The most commonly observed activity was eating and drinking. The findings, in keeping with previous work, suggest that therapeutic activities occupy a minimal proportion of the patient's day. Reasons for inactivity are explored and recommendations made for further research.
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