LTSS Center researchers are helping the University of Kansas School of Nursing pilot test an online training program to enhance communication in nursing homes.
Can an in-person training program to reduce elderspeak among nursing home staff be adapted successfully to an online format?
The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston will be helping researchers at the University of Kansas (KU) School of Nursing answer that question over the next few months.
LTSS Center researchers will be consultants on the new project, which is designed to pilot test an online version of Changing Talk (CHAT), an in-person training program designed to help nursing home team members avoid elderspeak, the baby talk commonly used by younger nursing home staff in conversation with older nursing residents.
Preliminary findings show that the online version of the training—called CHATO—is as effective as the original CHAT in-person training. However, researchers want to validate those findings with a larger sample size. The new study will test the effectiveness of the CHATO online modules, and the program’s accompanying implementation guide, in 120 nursing homes. The research is funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institute on Aging.
