WEB-BASED DEMENTIA CARE TRAINING FOR PROFESSIONALS

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to develop, evaluate, and disseminate Web-based, low-literacy, low-cost, accredited training on dementia care to supervised nursing personnel. Targeted personnel include nursing assistants, health aides, home health workers, and adult day care workers. Dementia care settings include nursing facilities, assisted living, home care, day care, retirement communities, board and care, skilled nursing facilities, etc. The entire course will consist of ten modules, each covering a specific aspect of dementia care. Each module will be designed to be complete in itself, and each may be used independently of the others, depending upon each student's and each facility's needs. A certificate of completion will be provided, and continuing education units will be accredited by the Alzheimer's Association (National). This training will address the care issues of 4.5 million Americans who currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease, a number expected to grow to16 million by 2050. It also addresses the problem that few non-degreed health care providers get the knowledge and skills training they need to treat patients suffering from dementia. According to the Alzheimer's Association and others, the single most important determinant of quality dementia care across all care settings is staff training for caregivers. With nearly half of all elder care patients having some form of dementia, it is imperative that staff understand the symptoms, behaviors, and treatments associated with the disease in order to meet the needs of individuals in their care. There are two major innovations addressed through this project: 1) providing accredited Web-based training for supervised nursing personnel, and 2) disseminating the course through the Alzheimer's Association Website, and 81 Chapters and 300 area offices as part of their multi-year Campaign for Quality Residential Care. Specific Phase II Objectives are: 1) complete development and qualitative evaluation of the dementia care Web- based course; 2) evaluate effects of the Web-based course through a quantitative randomized trial study to analyze knowledge gain and applied decision making skill changes, pretest to posttest to follow-up posttest, in a Web-based intervention group, a print-based intervention group, and a non-intervention comparison group; 3) prepare for dissemination of the Web-based course by developing a user's manual, developing an optional-use blended learning curriculum, and translating into other languages.