Older adult care in the emergency department: identifying strategies that foster best practice.

The goals of this study were to obtain a profile of older adults who are treated in the emergen department, examine their length of stay and contributing factors, and determine nurses' knowledge and perception of care provided to older adults. The records of 206 older adults were reviewed. Emergency department nurses completed the Geriatric Institutional Assessment Profile, which measures knowledge of older adult care. The majority of old patients were community-dwelling women who required urgent care. The most common reason for the emergency department visit was a fall. Mean time older adults spent in the emergency department was longer than 5 hours, and nearly half were admitted to the hospital. Nurses scored lowest in pressure ulcer prevention and appropriate urinary catheter usage. Emergency department nurses are challenged to combine gerontological knowledge that focuses on basic care of older adults with their knowledge and skills in dealing with emergency situations.