Bonnie L. Walker

STAFF AND ELDERLY KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD ELDERLY SEXUALITY

This study compared staff and elderly knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to sexual expression by elderly persons in a long‐term care setting. Volunteers (N = 194) responded agree or disagree to 159 items. Significant differences were observed between the staff and elderly responses on 36 items. Areas of greatest differences involved knowledge and attitudes about consensual sex and sexual abuse, issues related to family attitudes toward remarriage and sexual expression, and age‐related changes and health problems related to sexuality. Items related to masturbation received the greatest percentage of no response. The staff had significantly higher total scores as compared to the elderly reflecting more knowledge, positive attitudes, and support for more proactive responses toward elderly sexuality. Findings have major implications for staff training in long‐term care settings.

The effects of computer-based training on immediate and residual learning of nursing facility staff.

Nursing facility administrators must find new and innovative ways to meet the training needs of their staff. In this article, researchers discuss the effectiveness of computer-based training compared with the traditional instructor-led format. The computer-based and instructor-led versions of a fire safety training program were presented to staff of nine nursing facilities. Participants (N = 1,294) were randomly assigned to the computer-based or instructor-led groups. Both groups significantly increased their scores from pretest to posttest. The computer-based group significantly outperformed the instructor-led group on the knowledge subtest at posttest. Participants reported that they enjoyed the computer-based training and had no difficulty using the computers. The researchers concluded that computer-based training can be an effective and efficient alternative training technique.

Is Computer-based Instruction an Effective Way to Present Fire Safety Training to Long-term Care Staff?

This study offers evidence that computer-based instruction is a feasible and effective alternative training method for long-term care staff. Participants were 289 nursing facility staff randomly divided into two treatment groups. One group completed instructor-led (IL) fire safety training and the other completed computer-based (CB) training adapted from the IL version. Both the CB and IL groups significantly increased their scores from pre- to posttest. Differences between the two groups were not significant.

Preventing Suicide and Depression: A Training Program for Long-Term Care Staff:

Approximately 5 percent of those sixty-five and older live in long-term care facilities (1.5 million). Neither suicide and depression among the elderly who reside in long-term care facilities nor prevention techniques are well-understood by staff. This article discusses the development of a curriculum designed to train long-term care staff in preventing suicide among the elderly and the results of a pilot test of a training program based on that curriculum. The participants (N=43) significantly improved their scores from pre- to post-test on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices subtests. The knowledge areas in which staff performed the most poorly at pre-test were related to identifying appropriate primary and secondary interventions, the relationship between dementia and suicide, methods of self-destruction used by the elderly, and understanding of depression in the elderly. There was a significant relationship between pre-test and post-test scores on all subtests. Staff with higher levels of education had significantly higher pre- and post-test scores on the knowledge and attitudes subtests. More experienced staff had significantly higher post-test scores on the practices subtest. A large majority of the participants had highly positive attitudes toward the program and thought the program had been very useful or useful to them as caregivers. The study demonstrated the need for staff training related to suicide prevention in long-term care as well as the usefulness of even a brief training.

The usefulness of computer-based instruction in providing educational opportunities for nursing staff.

Computer-based (CB) instruction offers an alternative method for healthcare facilities to provide in service training to the staff. The authors investigated CB instruction as a way to provide information on preventing suicide and depression, adverse medication events, foodborne illness, and burns and scalds to people who care for older adults. The study compared the effects of CB instruction with those of equivalent instructor-led (IL) workshops. Each group of learners significantly improved knowledge related to the topic presented. The CB and IL versions of the modules produced similar results. The participants enjoyed using the computers and found the program easy to use. The authors concluded that CB instruction can be an effective alternative method of providing educational opportunities and is a convenient and cost-effective way to provide those opportunities to nursing staff.

Computer-Based and Instructor-Led Injury Prevention Training for Board and Care Staff

Board and care owners and administrators must find new and innovative ways to meet the training needs of those on their staffs. The authors investigated computer-based instruction as a way to teach injury prevention techniques to these care providers. A computer-based (CB) training program was used that had been adapted from a print-based/instructor-led (IL) program. This article discusses the effectiveness of the CB training as compared to the effectiveness of the traditional IL format. The CB and IL versions of a prevention training program were presented to board and care staff during five sessions. The 78 participants were randomly assigned to either the CB or IL groups. Both the CB and IL groups significantly increased their knowledge scores from pretest to posttest. The CB participants reported that they enjoyed the training and had no difficulty using the computers, even though some of them had never used a computer previously for any activity. Computer-based training can be an effective alternative training technique for this population.

THE EFFECTS OF COMPUTER-BASED FIRE SAFETY TRAINING ON THE KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND PRACTICES OF CAREGIVERS

Older adults in small residential care facilities are at a high risk of fire death and injury because of their characteristics and environment. The authors investigated computer-based instruction as a way to teach fire emergency planning to caregivers from small residential care facilities. Study participants (N=59) who completed the training significantly improved their scores from pretest to posttest when compared to a control group. Participants indicated on the course evaluation that the computers were easy to use (97%) and that they would like to use computers for future training courses (97%).

Computer-Based Instruction and the Web for Delivering Injury Prevention Training.

This study investigated the effects of 10 injury prevention computer-based training modules tested by 120 participants from 65 facilities that provide care or support to elderly people needing long-term care. The training was delivered either on CD-ROM or at a Web site. A repeated measures analysis was performed with module scores on a pretest and posttest. The main effect of time was significant, demonstrating that participants scored higher at posttest. The main effect of module was also significant, suggesting that participants performed at significantly different levels on various modules. Evaluation results found that participants were strongly positive about the training content and delivery method. After the initial training, a 3-month follow-up study was conducted with 4 of the modules with 71 (59.2%) of the original participants. Gains continued to be significant for the 4 tested modules as compared to control groups.

Teaching ergonomics to nursing facility managers using computer-based instruction.

This study offers evidence that computer-based training is an effective tool for teaching nursing facility managers about ergonomics and increasing their awareness of potential problems. Study participants (N = 45) were randomly assigned into a treatment or control group. The treatment group completed the ergonomics training and a pre- and posttest. The control group completed the pre- and posttests without training. Treatment group participants improved significantly from 67% on the pretest to 91% on the posttest, a gain of 24%. Differences between mean scores for the control group were not significant for the total score or for any of the subtests.

Results of a field test and follow-up study of a restorative care training program

BACKGROUND To implement restorative care in assisted living facilities, staff and administrators need to understand the philosophy and learn methods to help residents maintain optimal function. OBJECTIVE In this study, researchers investigated the use of a Web-based training program to improve the restorative care knowledge, attitudes, and practices of assisted living administrators and staff. DESIGN The study design was one group repeated measure to consider the impact of the training program on participants knowledge of restorative care and restorative care techniques, attitudes toward restorative care, and self-reported practices. PARTICIPANTS Participants included 266 administrators and 203 direct care staff from assisted living facilities in eight states. METHODS Measurements were done at baseline (pretest), following the instruction (posttest), and one month later (follow-up). RESULTS Researchers found that participants (n=469) significantly improved their scores from pre- to posttest. In a follow-up study (n=244), over half of participants reported making changes at their facility as a result of the restorative care training. Most of the changes are related to care practices, such as an emphasis on encouraging, motivating, and offering positive feedback to residents. CONCLUSIONS Researchers concluded that there is a need for restorative care training for both administrators and staff of assisted living facilities. The study also demonstrates that a brief training session (2h or less) can bring about significant change in the learners knowledge of facts, attitudes, and practices. It demonstrates that much of that change continues for at least 1 month after the training. It also demonstrates the loss of knowledge and points out the need for training to be followed up with continuing education and administrator encouragement. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that the Web is a feasible method of delivering restorative care training to assisted living facility administrators and staff.