SBIR-STTR Award

The purpose of the proposed research is two-fold: to reduce the incidence of injuries among older Americans living in board and care homes and to determine the effectiveness of computer-based training with board and care home providers. These goals will be achieved through the development and distribution of a comprehensive, validated multimedia injury prevention training program for board and care home providers. The program will be delivered in CD-ROM and web-based formats. Computer-based training technology has not yet been proven in the board and care home environment as a means of delivering training to providers. This project will measure the short and long-term effects of computer-based injury prevention training on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of board and care home providers through Phase I pilot testing and a Phase II national field test. It will serve as a benchmark for future projects and provide a standard for computer and web-based training in the board and care industry. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has expressed an interest in publishing the CD-ROM and web-based injury prevention training program. The AHCA believes that a computer-based injury prevention training program has the potential to be an important training tool for board and care providers. AHCA will also market the program to nursing and other long-term care facilities.

This research project has two goals. Its primary purpose is to reduce injuries among older people living in board and care facilities by improving opportunities for staff training. This project will also determine the effectiveness of computer-based (CB) instruction as compared to traditional instructor-led training and to investigate the effectiveness of CB training delivered over the Internet. These goals will be achieved through the development and distribution of a comprehensive, validated multimedia injury prevention program designed to meet the training needs of the target population. Eleven injury prevention modules will be delivered in CD-ROM and Web-based formats. The pilot study undertaken in Phase I of this project demonstrated the potential for CB training with board and care staff. In the pilot test of the prototype module, the training significantly improved participant knowledge of fall prevention even though many participants had never previously used a computer. Phase II will expand the research to include a field test and follow-up study with participants in four states. Researchers will also develop and test Web-based versions of the modules. This project can serve as a benchmark for future projects and provide a standard for computer and Web-based training in the board and care industry.

Thesaurus Terms:
allied health education, computer assisted instruction, computer program /software, educational resource design /development, geriatric medicine, home health care, injury prevention, interactive multimedia DVD /CD ROM, Internet, aging clinical research, human subject