Trained study nurses identified eligible patients at the time
of hospital admission and approached them to obtain informed
consent. At this time, they also administered a 4-item cognitive
screening test that included the patient’s age and telephone number,
the current date, and the name of the facility. Patients who
answered fewer than 3 questions correctly could participate in
the study if they had an able and willing proxy. The study nurses
used a random number generator to produce a random allocation
sequence. Although blinding of observers was not possible
during the study protocol, the research assistant who performed
the follow-up telephone survey at 30 days after discharge
was blinded to the participants’ allocation status