• To enhance your awareness of the risk of deconditioning associated with hospitalisation in older people
• To learn about strategies for identifying at-risk patients and reducing or preventing deconditioning
• To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)
• To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)
Deconditioning is caused by complex physiological changes occurring as a result of immobility, for example during or after a period of acute illness or injury and hospitalisation. It leads to functional decline and compounds or contributes to conditions such as frailty and sarcopenia. In the past, prolonged bed rest was considered therapeutic, but the need to reduce or avoid prolonged immobility is now widely recognised. Hospital-associated deconditioning can be reduced or prevented through mobilisation strategies such as those promoted by the #EndPJparalysis campaign. This article explains the importance of reducing or preventing hospital-associated deconditioning and nurses’ role in this.
Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2023.e1396
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Swinnerton E, Price A (2023) Recognising, reducing and preventing deconditioning in hospitalised older people. Nursing Older People. doi: 10.7748/nop.2023.e1396
Published online: 08 February 2023
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