The following delirium checklist has been designed for carers to identify delirium in older people, including those with dementia. This checklist requires no training, no prior knowledge of the person, no questions directed at the person, is independent of language and based on seven simple observations of the person during care giving.

TRANSCRIPT:

On this website is a simple questionnaire to help identify delirium in your loved one. It is found in the delirium toolkit. It needs no medical training and is completed by answering yes or no to just 7 questions. Here's how it works. Each time you answer yes to a question, you simply add the number in the yes box to your total score. After all the questions have been answered, a total score of 4 or more means your loved one might have delirium and you should contact a healthcare professional for further advice. The test can be used any time your loved one is showing signs of delirium in and out of hospital.

Have you observed any of the following?

During your interaction with the person today. Have you observed any of the following?

• Altered level of awareness to the environment...

• Reduced attentiveness; inability to focus...

• Fluctuation in awareness and attentiveness...

• Disordered thinking...

• Disorganised behaviour...

• Unexplained impaired eating or drinking...

• Unexplained difficulty with mobility or movement...

To access the checklist click here

Reference

1. Shulman RW, Kalra S, Jiang JZ. Validation of the sour seven questionnaire for screening delirium in hospitalized seniors by informal caregivers and untrained nurses. BMC Geriatr. 2016;16:44

Delirium Identification Checklist

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