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Doctors and Nurses Use of the Word Confused

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

C. J. Simpson
C. J. Simpson*
Affiliation:
Drug Dependence Unit, St George's Hospital, London SW17
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Summary

A questionnaire was sent to 274 doctors and nurses. The first section was to see if certain symptoms and signs elicited the description of patients as ‘confused’, and the second to discover the respondents' definitions. The results showed a marked discordance in health workers' understanding of this word ‘confused’ in reference to patients, and it is suggested that it should only be used if it is clearly defined.

Type
Brief Reports
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 145 , Issue 4 , October 1984 , pp. 441 - 443
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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References

Hamilton, M., (ed) (1974) Fish's Clinical Psychopathology. Bristol: John Wright.Google Scholar
Lipowski, Z. J. (1967) Delirium, clouding of consciousness and confusion. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 145, 227–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lishman, W. A. (1978) Organic Psychiatry — The Psychological Consequences of Cerebral Disorder. London: Blackwell Scientific Google Scholar
Wakeley, C. & Bate, J. G. (1975) The Faber Medical Dictionary. London: Faber & Faber Google Scholar
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