EXPERIENTIAL ASSESSMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE DEMENTIA CARE TRAINING SEQUENCE FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WORKERS

This poster presents results of an assessment of an interdisciplinary dementia care training titled Dementia Reconsidered (DR). In contrast to disease and deficit-focused training curricula, DR incorporates and emphasizes the strengths and humanity of people living with dementia and focuses on person-directed support for, and care of, persons living with dementia. For example, DR makes the case for an approach to shared and supported decision-making that optimizes the individual’s— and significant others’—abilities. The on-line lectures were chunked to accommodate cognitive load and active learning; 20-30 second stretch breaks were interspersed to facilitate attention. This may account for the higher retention and utilization rates of DR than are often found in one-off trainings. A retrospective pre-post survey administered at the conclusion of DR sessions measured participant learning outcomes. Participants in DR sessions were representative of the fields of social work (42%), nursing (21%), and a significant “other” category (28%), mostly long-term care administrators. Among post-training survey respondents (N=36), 77% improved their knowledge of the key principles of person-directed dementia care; 73% (N=37) showed improved comfort in supporting residents with dementia during the CoVID-19 pandemic; 83% (N=24) showed improvement in ability to distinguish capacity and competency; and 83% (N=23) reported increased comfort in supporting people with dementia in making decisions in the face of diminished capacity. At six month follow-up, 63% (N=33) had used a skill gained from their training (17% no, 20% not sure). Implications for training in dementia care practices will be discussed.