Understanding Beliefs and Knowledge Gaps Regarding Delirium among Trainee Physicians in Thailand
Panita Limpawattana MD1, Pimolrat Paopongpaiboon MD2, Krittanan Worawittayakit MD2, Verajit Chotmongkol MD3, Manchumad Manjavong MD1, Kittisak Sawanyawisuth MD4, Sitthichai Khamsai MD4, Jiraporn Pimporm RN5
Affiliation : 1 Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand 3 Divison of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand 4 Divison of Ambulatory Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand 5 Outpatient Department, Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Objective : Understanding the beliefs and knowledge gaps regarding delirium among physicians is critical in order to improve
care for the condition. The objectives of this study were to determine attitudes and level of knowledge regarding delirium
among trainee physicians, and associated factors.
Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Trainee physicians at the Khon Kaen University Faculty of
Medicine were recruited and provided with questionnaires from October 1 and December 31, 2016. The questionnaires were
developed to evaluate the trainees’ knowledge and attitudes. They were distributed to all participants and those that were
completed were returned to the researchers.
Results : Of the 368 surveys distributed, 260(71%) were completed. The confusion assessment method(CAM) was used by
the trainee physicians for detecting delirium in about one third(32.3%). About 40% of participants believed delirium was a
normal process in hospitalized patients and 40% felt that they were skilled in delirium diagnosis. However, less than a third
were confident in managing the condition. The median score on questions evaluating the participants’ knowledge of delirium
was 60%. For the most part, they were knowledgeable regarding prevalence and risk factors of the condition(median score =
78.6%) They displayed poor knowledge regarding diagnosis (median score = 0%). Specialty training in internal medicine and
psychiatry were the only factors associated with better scores with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 17.1 and 13.04,
respectively.
Conclusion : Trainee physicians had limited knowledge and less awareness regarding delirium. Specialties in internal medi-
cine and psychiatry were the significant factors associated with better scores on the knowledge evaluation.
Keywords : Acute confusion state, Education, Older people, Questionnaire, Survey
