Does the modified Hospital Elder Life Program reduce functional decline and delirium in older abdominal surgery patients?
The modified HELP intervention, led by a trained nurse, is a low-cost strategy to reduce functional decline and delirium in older abdominal surgery patients.
The modified HELP intervention effectively reduced older surgical patients' functional decline and delirium rates by hospital discharge. This program, conducted by a trained nurse, was not costly but did require commitment and ongoing cooperation between physician and nursing leadership to achieve compliance with the protocols.
Chen et al. (2011) studied this question.