The Integration of Long-Term Care and Personal Support Worker Education: Evaluation of a Living Classroom Experience

Year 2021, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 1 - 10, 01.12.2021

Jen Plant , Valerie Fiset , Jennifer Munoz Enrique Soto Shelly Crıck

https://doi.org/10.51819/jaltc.2021.1013670

Abstract

The shortage of Personal Support Workers (PSW) to meet the needs of residents in long-term care (LTC) homes has been well documented, and the issue has been made more acute in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The living classroom (LC) has been implemented as one approach to addressing the need to train PSWs and attract them to the sector. A mixed-methods program evaluation of a LC program was undertaken. Surveys were carried out with students during and at the end of the program. Focus groups and individual interviews were carried out with staff, residents, and students. Program implementation was successful, and several program graduates were employed in the LTC home upon graduation. Key stakeholders were satisfied with the program, and students had improved attitudes toward the LTC sector. Opportunities for improvement were noted and addressed. The LC model is an approach that can be used by LTC homes and their educational partners to deliver high quality, integrated PSW programs. It can be used to help address the serious staffing shortages in the LTC sector.

Keywords

Long-term care, Personal Support Worker, Education Program, Program Evaluation

Supporting Institution

This work was supported in part with funding from the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research, and Innovation in Long-Term Care hosted at Bruyère. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Province.

References

• Algoso, M., Peters, K., Ramjan, L., & East, L. (2016). Exploring undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of working in aged care settings: A review of the literature. Nurse Education Today, 36, 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2015.08.001
• Boscart, V. M., D’Avernas, J., Brown, P., & Raasok, M. (2017). Changing the Impact of Nursing Assistants’ Education in Seniors’ Care: the Living Classroom in Long-Term Care. Canadian Geriatrics Journal, 20(1), 15–21. https://doi.org/10.5770/cgj.20.238
• Boscart, V. M., D’Avernas, J., van der Horst, M. L., Garbutt, K., Sheiban Taucar, L., & Raasok, M. (2019). Shared learning environments for unregulated care provider education in long-term care: Innovative approaches and key considerations. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2019.1645015
• Boscart, V. M., McCleary, L., Stolee, P., Taucar, L. S., Wilhelm, J., Johnson, K., D’Avernas, J., Brown, P., & Raasok, M. (2020). Enhancing nursing home care for seniors: impact of a living classroom on nursing assistant’s education. Educational Gerontology, 46(8), 461–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2020.1774842
• Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. P. L. (2010). Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research (Second ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Duan, Y., Iaconi, A., Song, Y., Norton, P. G., Squires, J. E., Keefe, J., Cummings, G. G., & Estabrooks, C. A. (2020). Care Aides Working Multiple Jobs: Considerations for Staffing Policies in Long-Term Care Homes During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 21(10), 1390–1391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2020.07.036
• Garbutt, K., Boscart, V., D’Avernas, J., van der Horst, M.-L., & Raasok, M. (2019). The Living Classroom. Shared Learning Environments for PSW Education. The Living Classroom Implementation Guide for Colleges and Long-Term Care Home. Living Classroom Implementation Guide. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://the-ria.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RIA-Living-Classroom-Guide-2019-A.pdf
• Hsu, A. T., Lane, N., Sinha, S. K., Dunning, J., Dhuper, M., Kahiel, Z., & Sveistrup, H. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on residents of Canada’s long-term care homes – ongoing challenges and policy responses. Long-Term Care Responses to COVID-19 (International Long-Term Care Policy Network). Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://ltccovid.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/LTCcovid-country-reports_Canada_Hsu-et-al_May-10-2020-2.pdf
• OLTCA (Ontario Long-Term Care Association). (2014). This is Long-Term Care 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.oltca.com/oltca/Documents/Reports/This_is_LongTerm_Care_2014_Final.pdf
• OLTCA [Ontario Long-Term Care Association]. (2019). Long-term care that works. For seniors. For Ontario. 2019 Budget Submission. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.oltca.com/OLTCA/Documents/Reports/2019OLTCABudgetSubmission-LTCthatWorks.pdf
• Ontario Health Coalition by Unifor. (2019). Caring in Crisis: Ontario’s Long-Term Care PSW Shortage. Ontario Health Coalition. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/final-PSW-report.pdf
• Palinkas, L. A., Aarons, G. A., Horwitz, S., Chamberlain, P., Hurlburt, M., & Landsverk, J. (2010). Mixed Method Designs in Implementation Research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 38(1), 44–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0314-z
• Swanlund, S., & Kujath, A. (2012). Attitudes of Baccalaureate Nursing Students Toward Older Adults:A Pilot Study. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(3), 181–183. https://doi.org/10.5480/1536-5026-33.3.181