Consumer and health professional reflections and feedback on the Help After Leaving hospiTal delirium rehabilitation programme.

BACKGROUND

Delirium in late life is associated with long-term adverse clinical outcomes. There is no standard rehabilitation pathway following hospitalisation for individuals who experienced delirium. Through co-production we have been developing Help After Leaving HospiTal (HALT), a multicomponent, tailored and scalable intervention designed to prevent cognitive decline in individuals without dementia following in-hospital delirium. This study aimed to gather feedback on the HALT programme's structure, content, resources and engagement strategies prior to pilot testing from individuals who have treated, cared for or experienced delirium.

METHODS

A descriptive qualitative study was undertaken with health professionals (n = 12) and consumers (n = 4). Five in-person workshops were held in August and September 2025. A semi-structured workshop guide was used to elicit participant reflections and feedback. Audio-recorded data were transcribed verbatim, coded using NVivo and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Five themes were generated: (i) personalisation and enhanced support; (ii) beyond involvement, supporting support persons is essential; (iii) be a trusted partner; (iv) overcoming barriers to optimise engagement and (v) comprehensive content and easy to read materials.

CONCLUSION

Feedback has been used to shape the HALT programme prior to pilot testing by increasing the flexibility of module delivery methods, incorporating information for support persons, ensuring strong linkages with hospitals and overcoming barriers to optimise engagement to ensure the programme meets the needs of its intended users. These insights may also be leveraged by others working on delirium rehabilitation programmes.