scholarly journals A Controlled Investigation of Continuing Pain Education for Long-Term Care Staff

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omeed O Ghandehari ◽  
Thomas Hadjistavropoulos ◽  
Jaime Williams ◽  
Lilian Thorpe ◽  
Dennis P Alfano ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The underassessment and undertreatment of pain in residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities has been well documented. Gaps in staff knowledge and inaccurate beliefs have been identified as contributors.OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effectiveness of an expert-based continuing education program in pain assessment/management for LTC staff.METHODS: Participants included 131 LTC staff members who were randomly assigned to either an interactive pain education (PE) program, which addressed gaps in knowledge such as medication management, or an interactive control program consisting of general dementia education without a specific clinical focus. Participants attended three sessions, each lasting 3 h, and completed measures of pain-related knowledge and attitudes/beliefs before, immediately after and two weeks following the program. Focus groups were conducted with a subset of participants to gauge perception of the training program and barriers to implementing pain-related strategies.RESULTS: Analysis using ANOVA revealed that PE participants demonstrated larger gains compared with control participants with regard to pain knowledge and pain beliefs. Barriers to implementing pain-related strategies certainly exist. Nonetheless, qualitative analyses demonstrated that PE participants reported that they overcame many of these barriers and used pain management strategies four times more frequently than control participants.CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to previous research, the present study found that the interactive PE program was effective in changing pain beliefs and improving knowledge. Continuing PE in LTC has the potential to address knowledge gaps among front-line LTC providers.

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 307-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M Gagnon ◽  
Thomas Hadjistavropoulos ◽  
Jaime Williams

INTRODUCTION: Inadequacies in pain assessment and management in long-term care have been well documented. Insufficient pain education and inaccurate beliefs about the nature of pain and aging have been identified as possible contributors. The present study addresses the need for improved, efficient and feasible continuing pain education through the use of an assessment training video.METHODS: A total of 148 long-term care staff viewed and evaluated the training video. Knowledge changes and pain beliefs were assessed postvideo and at a four-week follow-up. Beliefs about pain, as well as pain and aging, were also examined using multivariate procedures to determine whether these variables influenced participants’ evaluation of the video. Focus groups were also conducted, and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis.RESULTS: Pain assessment knowledge improved postvideo and at the four-week follow-up. Participants positively evaluated the content and quality of the video. Individuals who held stronger beliefs (at baseline) about the organic nature of pain provided more positive evaluations. Barriers to implementation of practices in the video identified by the focus groups (and qualitative analysis) included time, workload and resistance to change. Facilitators to implementation included continued management support and observing the benefits to implementation.DISCUSSION: The present study provides support for the use of video training. However, based on the focus group results, top-down implementation approaches with ongoing management involvement throughout the implementation process may be needed to achieve sustained changes in pain assessment practices. A model useful for sustained implementation was proposed and discussed, and is hoped to facilitate future research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (15) ◽  
pp. 64-67
Author(s):  
George Barnes ◽  
Joseph Salemi

The organizational structure of long-term care (LTC) facilities often removes the rehab department from the interdisciplinary work culture, inhibiting the speech-language pathologist's (SLP's) communication with the facility administration and limiting the SLP's influence when implementing clinical programs. The SLP then is unable to change policy or monitor the actions of the care staff. When the SLP asks staff members to follow protocols not yet accepted by facility policy, staff may be unable to respond due to confusing or conflicting protocol. The SLP needs to involve members of the facility administration in the policy-making process in order to create successful clinical programs. The SLP must overcome communication barriers by understanding the needs of the administration to explain how staff compliance with clinical goals improves quality of care, regulatory compliance, and patient-family satisfaction, and has the potential to enhance revenue for the facility. By taking this approach, the SLP has a greater opportunity to increase safety, independence, and quality of life for patients who otherwise may not receive access to the appropriate services.


Author(s):  
Kathleen T. Unroe ◽  
Russell Evans ◽  
Lindsay Weaver ◽  
Dan Rusyniak ◽  
Justin Blackburn

Author(s):  
Bum Jung Kim ◽  
Sun-young Lee

Extensive research has demonstrated the factors that influence burnout among social service employees, yet few studies have explored burnout among long-term care staff in Hawaii. This study aimed to examine the impact of job value, job maintenance, and social support on burnout of staff in long-term care settings in Hawaii, USA. This cross-sectional study included 170 long-term care staff, aged 20 to 75 years, in Hawaii. Hierarchical regression was employed to explore the relationships between the key independent variables and burnout. The results indicate that staff with a higher level of perceived job value, those who expressed a willingness to continue working in the same job, and those with strong social support from supervisors or peers are less likely to experience burnout. Interventions aimed at decreasing the level of burnout among long-term care staff in Hawaii may be more effective through culturally tailored programs aimed to increase the levels of job value, job maintenance, and social support.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 533-533
Author(s):  
Linda Edelman ◽  
Troy Andersen ◽  
Cherie Brunker ◽  
Nicholas Cox ◽  
Jorie Butler ◽  
...  

Abstract Opioids are often the first-line chronic pain management strategy for long-term care (LTC) residents who are also at increased risk for opioid-related adverse events. Therefore, there is a need to train LTC providers and staff about appropriate opioid use and alternative treatment strategies. Our interdisciplinary team worked with LTC partners to identify staff educational needs around opioid stewardship. Based on this need’s assessment, we developed eight modules about opioid use and risks for older adults, including those with dementia, recommendations for de-prescribing including other pharmacological and non-pharmacological alternatives, SBIRT, and motivational interviewing to determine “what matters”. Each 20-minute module contains didactic and video content that is appropriate for group staff training or individuals and provides rural LTC facilities access to needed training in their home communities. Within the first month of launching online, the program received over 1100 hits and LTC partners are incorporating modules into clinical staff training schedules.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 960-960
Author(s):  
Sara Luck ◽  
Katie Aubrecht

Abstract Nursing home facilities are responsible for providing care for some of the most vulnerable groups in society, including the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions. In times of crisis, such as COVID-19 or other pandemics, the delivery of ‘regular’ care can be significantly impacted. In relation to COVID-19, there is an insufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to care for residents, as PPE not only protects care staff but also residents. Nursing homes across the United States and Canada have also taken protective measures to maximize the safety of residents by banning visitors, stopping all group activities, and increasing infection control measures. This presentation shares a research protocol and early findings from a study investigating the impact of COVID-19 on quality of care in residential long-term care (LTC) in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. This study used a qualitative description design to explore what contributes to quality of care for residents living in long-term care, and how this could change in times of crisis from the perspective of long-term care staff. Interviews were conducted with a broad range of staff at one LTC home. A semi-structured interview guide and approach to thematic analysis was framed by a social ecological perspective, making it possible to include the individual and proximal social influences as well as community, organizations, and policy influencers. Insights gained will improve the understanding of quality of care, as well as potential barriers and facilitators to care during times of crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Franke ◽  
Elmar Nass ◽  
Anna-Kathleen Piereth ◽  
Annabel Zettl ◽  
Christian Heidl

Assistive technologies including assistive robots (AT/AR) appear to be a promising response to the increasing prevalence of older adults in need of care. An increasing number of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) try to implement AT/AR in order to create a stimulating environment for aging well and to reduce workload for professional care staff. The implementation of new technologies in an organization may lead to noticeable cultural changes in terms of social interactions and care practices associated with positive or negative emotions for the employees. This applies especially for LTCFs with high rates of vulnerable residents affected by increasing care needs and specific ethics in nursing and cultural rules within the setting. Thus, systematic consideration in leadership management of emotions and ethical aspects is essential for stakeholders involved in the implementation process. In this article, we explicitly focus on the emotions of the employees and leaders within LTCFs. We relate to direct consequences for the organizational well-being and culture, which is of course (indirectly) affecting patients and residents. While aspects of technology acceptance such as safety and usefulness are frequently discussed in academic literature, the topic of emotion-management and ethical questions during the organizational implementation process in LTCFs received little attention. Emotional culture entails affective values, ethical norms and perceptions of employees and further investigation is needed to address the importance of transformational leadership during implementation process. For this purpose, we developed a three-staged assessment tool for implementation of AT/AR in long-term care institutions. Acceptance (A), ethical acceptability (A) and emotional consequences (E) are considered as comprehensive assessment, in which emotional consequences comprise management aspects of transformational leadership (T), emotion-management (E) and organizational culture (O). Based on AAE and TEO, this paper presents an integrated framework illustrated with a illustrative example and aims to combine established approaches with ethical insights in order to unfold potentials of AT/AR in LTCSs.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 81.e7-81.e13 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Blair Irvine ◽  
Molly B. Billow ◽  
Michelle Bourgeois ◽  
John R. Seeley

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 284-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Hill ◽  
Marie Y. Savundranayagam ◽  
Aleksandra Zecevic ◽  
Marita Kloseck

Dementia is a syndrome that is progressive, degenerative, and terminal. The palliative care philosophy aims to maximize quality of life for the dying individual and is both beneficial for and underused with persons dying with dementia. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of long-term care staff delivering palliative care to individuals with dementia to determine how care was delivered, to learn which guidelines were used, and whether policies affected the delivery of palliative care. Methods: Twenty-two staff participants were interviewed. Their experiences were interpreted using phenomenological methodology. Results: Findings yielded 3 key themes: confusion, resource shortages, and communication difficulties. Conclusion: Implications for practice include clarification of terminology surrounding palliative care, education of families about dementia and palliative care, better resource management, and the need to address when palliative care best fits within the dementia process.


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