Communication in the Nursing Home

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Prior descriptive research has examined family involvement in residential long-term care, and a handful of nursing and psychosocial interventions have attempted to facilitate family involvement and residents' social int egration in nursing homes. However, the intensity and potential intrusiveness of these interventions may make them difficult to administer as routine care in nursing homes. New, easy-to-use communication technology may improve the social integration of res idents in long-term care. This study will deploy a new communication technology platform, the Digital Mailbox system, in a pilot nursing home setting (ThreeLinks Care Center in Northfield, Minnesota) and will assess its impact on communication among 10 res idents, their family members, and care staff. The main objective of this Phase I SBIR is to ascertain the barriers and facilitators to implementation the CaringFamily Connections program, based on Digital Mailbox technology, in the nursing home setting. Preliminary, longitudinal descriptive data will also examine whether changes occur during the utilization of CaringFamily for the following variables: (1) communication and perceptions of relationships between care staff, residents, and family members, (2) family involvement, and (3) increased knowledge of residents by care staff. In addition to providing initial process and descriptive data on the implementation of the CaringFamily Connections program in a nursing home, this study will address a strategic interest of the National Institute for Nursing Research: improving the quality of caregiving for older adults in residential long-term care. Public Health Relevance: This pilot study aims to deploy a communication service based on new Digital Mailbox techn ology (the CaringFamily Connections program) in a nursing home in Northfield, Minnesota. In addition to examining the barriers and facilitators to use of the CaringFamily Connections program for residents, family members, and care staff, we also plan to collect preliminary data on how family involvement, resident-family-staff relationships and communication, and staff knowledge change during the use of this service.