Use of a Dementia Training Designed for Nurse Aides to Train Other Staff

Problematic resident behaviors may escalate in long-term care facilities (LTCs). If nurse aides (NAs) are not nearby, the nearest staff to intervene may be nondirect care workers (NDCWs), who have little or no dementia training. This pilot research tested Internet dementia-training program, designed for NAs, on NDCWs in a LTC setting. Sixty-eight NDCWs participated, filling out two baseline surveys at 1-month intervals and a posttest survey after training. The surveys included video-situation testing, items addressing psychosocial constructs associated with behavior change, and measures training-acceptance. Paired t tests showed significant positive effects on measures of knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions, with small-moderate effect sizes. Nursing staff as well as non-health care workers showed improved scores, and the website training program was well received by all participants. These results suggest that Internet training may allow staff development coordinators to conserve limited resources by cross-training of different job categories with the same program.