Older people frequently suffer from cognitive impairments, and environmental changes such as admission to hospital can be challenging and distressing.
Cognitive deficits in older adults are commonly caused by dementia, delirium, or depression. These three illnesses often overlap or coincide and share many characteristics.
Healthcare practitioners may struggle to distinguish between them, and delays in diagnosing and treating these conditions accurately can have severe consequences for the patient.
This module discusses the similarities and differences in the clinical presentation of dementia, delirium and depression, aiming to assist all those providing nursing care to differentiate between and recognise the three conditions.
At the end of this module participants will be able to:
