Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop delirium care pathways (DCPs) useable and relevant for registered practitioners in all care settings: community; acute; and nursing homes. A qualitative approach was adopted to develop the pathways inductively. Focus groups and one-to-one interviews with registered practitioners (n = 45) working as managers, practitioners and clinical nurse consultants were undertaken to develop draft versions of the pathways, which was pilot trialled across 19 clinical settings. The publication of the DCPs was a concise and easily readable document for registered practitioners who required immediate guidance on how to implement evidence-based delirium care for older people and their family carers, including three patient journeys explaining best-practice delirium care in community, acute and nursing home care settings, a webpage resource and printable posters of the pathways' patient journeys to promote the use of the pathways in clinical settings. The work undertaken to develop the pathways was further developed through new policy documents, state-wide initiatives to improve delirium care in hospitals, development of educational resources on delirium care and other knowledge translation projects on this topic.