An emergency department delirium screening and management initiative : the development and refinement of the SCREENED-ED intervention

Abstract

The current article describes an intervention aimed at emergency department (ED) nurses and physicians that was designed to address the challenges of managing delirium in the ED environment. The intervention development process followed the Medical Research Council principles paired with a user-centered design perspective. Expert clinicians and nursing staff were involved in the development process. As a result, the SCREENED-ED intervention includes four major components: screening for delirium, informing providers, an acronym (ALTERED), and documentation in the electronic health record. The acronym “ALTERED” includes seven key elements of delirium management that were considered the most evidence-based, relevant, and practical for the ED. Nurses are at the frontline of delirium recognition and management and the SCREENED-ED intervention with the ALTERED acronym holds the potential to improve nursing care in this complex clinical setting.