“What Matters To Me?” Responses from Older People in the Acute Setting

Abstract

Background The ‘What Matters to Me’ question has been used in many areas of the healthcare. In the context of older persons, the focus is typically on improving patient-centred care in long stay settings or in people living with dementia. It is also synonymous with end-of-life decisions. The question is contextual in itself and can elicit a wide range of responses. In this abstract, it was included in the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in a section about future care and responses were anticipated to be relevant to that subject. Methods The Older Person Specialist Nursing Team developed a CGA document for use in acute care. The “What Matters To Me?” question was included with the intention of discovering and recording older persons’ end of life plans and wishes. The responses to this question were extracted from a random 30 completed CGAs. Results A total of 24 responses were gathered, some participants provided multiple answers. Not documented n=6, 3 themes were identified from the responses; Home; Free time and Worries/Concerns. Return home was the most frequently expressed response; n=13. Other responses identified were enjoyment, pass times and pets; n=9. Worries/Concerns were identified in broad terms; “I’m worried out the future” n=7. Conclusion “What matters” in this context was a broad query and responses may have been influenced by participants current health status, location and fear of the future and the subjectivity of the question and the practitioner. Participants did not mention dying a concern but did allude to the future in a broad context. The “What Matters To Me” question will now be in the social information section and the Older Person Specialist Nursing Team are considering a targeted question related to end-of-life plans and wishes.