Effectiveness of nurse-led volunteer support and technology-driven pain assessment in improving the outcomes of hospitalised older adults: protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial
Max K Bulsara,
Christopher Etherton-Beer,
Rosemary Saunders,
Kate Crookes,
Mustafa Atee,
Caroline Bulsara,
Beverley Ewens,
Olivia Gallagher,
Renee M Graham,
Karen Gullick,
Sue Haydon,
Kim-Huong Nguyen,
Bev O'Connell,
Karla Seaman,
Jeff Hughes,
Seng Giap Marcus Ang,
Debra Scaini
Affiliations
Max K Bulsara
Centre for Health Services Research, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Christopher Etherton-Beer
Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Rosemary Saunders
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Kate Crookes
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Mustafa Atee
School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
Caroline Bulsara
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Beverley Ewens
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Olivia Gallagher
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Renee M Graham
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Karen Gullick
Clinical Services, Hollywood Private Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
Sue Haydon
Clinical Services, Hollywood Private Hospital, Nedlands 6009, Western Australia, Australia
Kim-Huong Nguyen
Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
Bev O'Connell
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Karla Seaman
Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Jeff Hughes
Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Seng Giap Marcus Ang
Centre for Research in Aged Care, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia
Debra Scaini
Clinical Services, Hollywood Private Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Introduction Hospitalised older adults are prone to functional deterioration, which is more evident in frail older patients and can be further exacerbated by pain. Two interventions that have the potential to prevent progression of frailty and improve patient outcomes in hospitalised older adults but have yet to be subject to clinical trials are nurse-led volunteer support and technology-driven assessment of pain.Methods and analysis This single-centre, prospective, non-blinded, cluster randomised controlled trial will compare the efficacy of nurse-led volunteer support, technology-driven pain assessment and the combination of the two interventions to usual care for hospitalised older adults. Prior to commencing recruitment, the intervention and control conditions will be randomised across four wards. Recruitment will continue for 12 months. Data will be collected on admission, at discharge and at 30 days post discharge, with additional data collected during hospitalisation comprising records of pain assessment and volunteer support activity. The primary outcome of this study will be the change in frailty between both admission and discharge, and admission and 30 days, and secondary outcomes include length of stay, adverse events, discharge destination, quality of life, depression, cognitive function, functional independence, pain scores, pain management intervention (type and frequency) and unplanned 30-day readmissions. Stakeholder evaluation and an economic analysis of the interventions will also be conducted.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been granted by Human Research Ethics Committees at Ramsay Health Care WA|SA (number: 2057) and Edith Cowan University (number: 2021-02210-SAUNDERS). The findings will be disseminated through conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications and social media.Trial registration number ACTRN12620001173987.
