Characteristics of elderspeak communication in hospital dementia care: Findings from The Nurse Talk observational study.
Clarissa Shaw, Caitlin Ward, Jean Gordon and 2 others
PMID 35623154WHAT IT FOUND
Hospital nursing staff used elderspeak, a patronizing style, in 85 of 88 dementia care encounters, making up 28.7% of their speech.
Older staff nurses, delirium, and longer stays were linked to more elderspeak, not dementia severity.
Key findings
01Elderspeak was identified in 85 of the 88 care encounters and made up 28.7% of nursing staff speech directed to patients with dementia.
02For staff nurses, each additional year of age was associated with a 1.3% higher proportion of elderspeak, while age was not associated with elderspeak use in nursing assistants.
03Elderspeak was 12.5% higher when patients had delirium and increased by 1.5% for each additional hospital day, but it was not associated with dementia severity or staff dementia knowledge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 16 patients were analyzed, and they had to show rejection of care, so the sample may not represent all hospitalized dementia patients. Most patients were men and non-Hispanic White, unlike national hospital dementia populations. Data came from three units in one hospital and convenience sampling, so results may not generalize. Researchers were present during observations, and staff were not told elderspeak was the focus, but this may still have changed natural speech. The study captured audio speech only, not non-verbal communication. The study is observational, so it cannot show that any factor caused elderspeak.
Declared interests
The paper reports no conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not state a funding source.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing elderspeak improves dementia care. This study recorded existing staff speech and associations; it did not test an intervention.