title: What do elderly people do in hospital?
abstract: Current health-care reforms have sharpened the focus on efficiency of bed usage; one useful method of exploring this concept is to determine how patients spend their time in hospital. This small study explored how 23 elderly patients spent their time on two elderly care wards. A time-sampling, patient-focused, structured observation method was employed to observe the patients. The most commonly observed activity was eating and drinking. The findings, in keeping with previous work, suggest that therapeutic activities occupy a minimal proportion of the patient's day. Reasons for inactivity are explored and recommendations made for further research.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Birchall
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Waters
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D001509:Bed Occupancy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D007899:Leisure Activities; D013997:Time Factors