Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Olivia Russell, Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali, Professor Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Dr Ahmad Khundakar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. Delirium is a common but frequently under-recognised neuropsychiatric syndrome in care homes, especially among residents living with dementia. Delirium is associated with substantial morbidity, mortality and preventable healthcare complications, yet evidence on how it is recognised and managed in residential care remains limited. This qualitative study explored care home managers’ perspectives on delirium care within privately owned care homes in a region of England, UK, and data analysed thematically to identify key challenges and opportunities for improvement. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) Recognising and Responding to Delirium described how detection often relied on staff familiarity with residents’ usual behaviour, with limited use of formal assessment tools and frequent difficulty distinguishing delirium from dementia, particularly in hypoactive presentations. (2) Systemic Barriers to Quality Care highlighted the impact of chronic underfunding, fragmented communication at hospital discharge, unclear clinical responsibility and limited access to training and clinical support. (3) Collaborative Care and Support Networks captured the role of families and external professionals in delirium management, with variable communication, inconsistent validation of care home concerns and challenges coordinating care across services. In response to these challenges, we recommend co-produced delirium education for care staff, clearer clinical pathways and stronger interprofessional collaboration to ensure that delirium is recognised and treated as a potentially life-threatening medical emergency.
Author(s): Russell OJ, Ameen-Ali KE, Flynn AC, Barnes S, Ferguson J, Divers A, Newbury-Birch D, Eberhardt J, Young JS, Krishnan MS, Khundakar AA
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Age and Ageing
Year: 2026
Volume: 55
Issue: 3
Online publication date: 18/03/2026
Acceptance date: 04/02/2026
Date deposited: 07/04/2026
ISSN (print): 0002-0729
ISSN (electronic): 1468-2834
Publisher: Oxford University Press
URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag056
DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afag056
Data Access Statement: The qualitative data generated and analysed in this study consist of audio recordings and verbatim transcripts from focus groups with care home managers. These data contain sensitive and potentially identifiable information, and the ethical approval for this project does not permit sharing of raw data beyond the research team. Consequently, the data are not publicly available. Enquiries regarding the study may be directed to the corresponding author.
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
