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Tag: Geriatric

E-Training to Enhance the Care of Aged and Dying Prisoners

E-Training to Enhance the Care of Aged and Dying Prisoners

The health care needs of aged, chronically ill, and dying inmates in correctional settings face growing demands. The Enhancing Care for the Aged and Dying in Prisons (ECAD-P) research team published insights from a geriatric care learning program for corrections staff as an abstract for the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. The ECAD-P research team is led by Dr. Susan Loeb from Penn State University and Dr. Valerie Myers from Klein Buendel. They would have presented the work at the 41st Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in San Francisco, had the conference been held as planned.

The number of older inmates in the United States continues to grow and best practices for managing geriatric issues and end-of-life (EOL) care have not been adapted for use in corrections settings. In response, ECAD-P team has developed a computer-based learning program for corrections staff comprised of six modules that address EOL and geriatric care concerns in prisons.

After conducting two rounds of usability testing at two prisons in different states, the ECAD-P program entered full-scale testing at seven state prisons. A total of 241 individuals consented to participate and 173 individuals completed all training modules and posttests. Outcomes revealed that the ECAD-P training program was acceptable, feasible, and usable in the corrections staff setting. The research team also found that corrections staff improved their knowledge of geriatric and EOL care of inmates overall after completing the training.

This research was funded by a Small Business Technology Transfer grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (AG049570; Dr. Susan Loeb and Dr. Valerie Myers, Multiple Principal Investigators). Collaborators and co-authors on this abstract also include Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis from Penn State University; Dr. Rachel Wion from the Indiana University School of Nursing (formerly Penn State University); Julie Murphy from the King’s College Nursing Program; and Tiffany Jerrod, formerly of Klein Buendel.

Gaining Entry to Correctional Settings for Health Research

Gaining Entry to Correctional Settings for Health Research

In a recent publication for a special issue on Nursing Leadership in Correction in the journal Nursing Leadership, authors from Penn State University, Indiana University, King’s College, and Klein Buendel share lessons learned from implementing a large-scale health communication research project in correctional settings. The NIH-funded project developed, implemented, and evaluated computer-based learning modules to train corrections personnel in geriatric and end-of-life care for incarcerated individuals. The program, Enhancing Care for the Aged and Dying in Prison, was funded by a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health.

The lessons learned, and described in detail in the publication, include the importance of building a team of experts, “planning and punting” (such as designing a reliable communication plan and adjusting to the distinctive facets of each prison), coordinating with institutional review boards to protect vulnerable populations, and examining denied applications for access to correctional facilities in order to inform future planning. According to the authors, “These lessons serve to establish best practices on how to access correctional settings and to enable more research in corrections.” Access to even one correctional facility can help researchers learn more about and help to improve healthcare for people who are incarcerated.

This research was funded by a Phase I and II STTR grant from the National Institute on Aging (AG049570). The Phase I Multiple Principal Investigators were Dr. Janice Penrod and Dr. Susan Loeb from Penn State University. The Phase II Multiple Principal Investigators were Dr. Susan Loeb and Dr. Valerie Myers from Penn State University and Klein Buendel, respectively.  The first author of the recent Nursing Leadership publication is Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis from Penn State University. Her coauthors include Dr. Susan Loeb from Penn State University, Dr. Valerie Myers and Tiffany Jerrod from Klein Buendel, Dr. Rachel Wion from Indiana University, and Dr. Julie Murphy from King’s College.

Implementing E-Training for Geriatric and End-of-Life Care in Corrections

Implementing E-Training for Geriatric and End-of-Life Care in Corrections

Dr. Susan Loeb from The Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing is presenting on the creation of a computer-based learning (CBL) program for corrections staff at the 32nd Annual Scientific Sessions virtual conference of the Eastern Nursing Research Society on March 26-27, 2020. Klein Buendel Senior Scientist, Dr. Valerie Myers, is a co-author on the presentation.

Experts in corrections have identified the care of older individuals who are incarcerated as a high priority area for research and policy. Therefore, there is a need to provide evidence-based training tailored to frontline corrections personnel who are charged with the care and oversight of aged and dying incarcerated individuals. In response, the research team developed, implemented, and tested a CBL program that aligned with contextual environment constraints and the infrastructure-specific needs of corrections.

The virtual presentation will describe how the adoption mechanisms and support systems were integrated from set up to full-scale usability testing of the CBL program, Enhancing Care for the Aged and Dying in Prison (ECAD-P) for corrections staff. Specifically, factors that affect adoption and support systems were identified, examined and implemented at each phase of the development and implementation process of ECAD-P. In the Set-Up phase, the format of a paper-pencil toolkit was not sustainable for long-term, broad dissemination of the program, so support systems were evaluated to determine the capabilities of CBL. Throughout the development, Expert and Community Advisory Boards critically examined the content and programming measures of the product to ensure the product complied with usual practices and institutional constraints.

During testing, small scale usability-testing was conducted to determine human capacity, infrastructure capabilities, reporting systems, and program design and function. In going to full-scale, large-scale usability testing provided valuable insights on implementation considerations, such as leadership, communication, policy, and culture of institution. Consideration of adoption mechanisms and support systems ultimately allowed for researchers to refine ECAD-P for future, effective, large-scale dissemination.

This research was funded by a Small Business Technology Transfer grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (AG049570; Dr. Susan Loeb and Dr. Valerie Myers, Multiple Principal Investigators). Collaborators on the work presented include Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis and Kaléi Kowalchik from The Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing; Dr. Rachel Wion from Indiana University School of Nursing; Julie Murphy from King College Nursing Program; and Dr. Valerie Myers and Tiffany Jerrod from Klein Buendel.

Real Health Photos – National Safety Month

Real Health Photos – National Safety Month

For 100 years, the National Safety Council has been the leading safety advocate preventing unintentional injuries and death in the United States. The Council’s National Safety Month, Observed annually in June, focuses on reducing leading causes of injury and death on the job, on the road, in the home, and in all communities. Specific areas they address include workplace violence prevention, safe driving, poisoning prevention, ergonomics, and fall prevention.

More than 33,000 people, for example, died in falls in 2015, according to the National Safety Council. “Falling is the third leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths over all age groups, but it’s the #1 cause of death for those 65 and older” (Injury Facts 2017, National Safety Council). Strategies for preventing falls include securing carpets to the floor, wiping up spills immediately, installing grab bars in tubs, in showers, and near toilets, and if necessary, provide personal walking devices, such as canes or walkers, to aid in stability.

Klein Buendel’s Real Health Photos stock photography enterprise includes numerous images of older adults using personal walking devices. These unique photographs can be used in educational materials to show older adult populations how easy and typical it is for people to use devices for safe walking.

Real Health Photos images show a diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, age, income level, and health condition. Use Real Health Photos for improving the impact of health campaigns for people from all walks of life, including older adults.

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For more images, visit Real Health Photos.

Real Health Photos Logo

Real Health Photos is a stock photography service owned and operated by KB. It was created and evaluated with a research grant (R44MD003338, Mary Buller, Principal Investigator) from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. Real Health Photos is designed to capture the diversity of health through photography and promote the inclusion of all populations in health promotion materials and media.

Real Health Photos® is a KB registered trademark.

Insights on Computer-Based End-of-Life Training in Prisons

Insights on Computer-Based End-of-Life Training in Prisons

Dr. Valerie Myers, KB Senior Scientist and SBM Fellow, presented a poster on the Enhancing Care of the Aged and Dying in Prison project at the 39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), April 11-14, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The prison population is aging at a rapid rate and is expected to continue to do so into the foreseeable future. As a result, prisons in the United States are facing increased demands in caring for aged, chronically ill, and dying inmates. Despite advances in the free world, best practices for managing geriatric issues and life-limiting or terminal illness have not been adapted for use in corrections settings. Implementing a training program addressing the health issues related to this population could mitigate legal risks and enhance care. However, the paramount focus on security makes technological advances available in the free word inaccessible inside prison walls.

Lessons learned from prior development, implementation, and evaluation research targeted at enhancing care for the aged and dying in prison led to the development of a media-rich interactive computer-based learning prototype, Enhancing Care of the Aged and Dying in Prison (ECAD-P). ECAD-P contains six modules that address end-of-life and geriatric care issues in prisons. The purpose of this aim of the project focused on a small-scale evaluation of ECAD-P. Specifically, in-person usability testing was conducted at one state department of corrections and one large city jail. Twelve participants evaluated the user interface, ease of use, and perceived barriers of the prototype, so that the research team may further understand user preferences, optimize the learning modules, and prepare for implementation.

A summary evaluation of the computer-based prototype training includes the participants’ impressions regarding the user interface of the computer-based training modules, beliefs about ease of use of the computer-based training modules, perceived barriers regarding the use of the computer-based training modules. Findings will be used to refine the computer-based training modules for large-scale usability testing targeting 12 prisons and jails across the United States. Lessons learned from this usability study and the larger scale usability study will inform future dissemination of the product. The intent of this educational product is to extend our reach to promote quality of health and health equity, as well as narrow the gap in health disparities experienced by a group that has often been described as “the least among us.”

This research project is funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (AG049570; Dr. Janice Penrod, Penn State University, Principal Investigator). Collaborators included Dr. Valerie Myers, Sophia Strickfaden, and Tiffany Jerrod from Klein Buendel, and Dr. Susan Loeb, Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis, and Rachel Wion from the Penn State University College of Nursing.