Cognitive Impairment

Changes in cognition are relatively common in the older population. Over the age of 75, as many as 1 in 4 people have dementia, and 1 in 10 in the ED has delirium. Depression (with its cognitive changes) is more common in those over 75 than in any other age group. However these three conditions are often overlooked or incompletely assessed during an older patient’s stay in the ED.

A senior-friendly emergency department can use any of a number of screening tools at triage to identify cognitive impairment in older patients and set up the correct care and follow up on a case by case basis. In this section you will information about those tools including links and downloads, that will help your emergency department be more senior-friendly.