Psychological reaction to hospital admission and discharge in geriatric patients

It is well known that hospitalization, especially in the elderly, is a highly distressing event: there is fear of losing completely onés functional and cognitive ability, and of being unable to cope. Patient's personality and coping abilities are important determinants of his/her ability to relate to the hospital. Especially in cognitively impaired patients, also the interaction between the hospital and the family may become problematic. Which interventions may reduce the feeling of anxiety generated by hospitalization in the patients and their relatives? In the general opinion environmental comforts are fundamental for a good permanence in hospital However most patient complain about poor communication with the staff. Many methods have been suggested to improve this issue: "the person centred approach", "patient participation", "seeing the person behind the patient using a biographical approach". All these methods are described in this article. Our Hospital's experience of more than twenty years has helped us to identify an approach aimed at improving communication and at reducing the dramatic impact of hospitalization in the elderly patient.