Best Practice Guidance
Human Interaction with Technology in Dementia

Recommendations

3.3

Implementation of technology in dementia care: facilitators & barriers

Successful implementation of technology in dementia care depends not merely on its effectiveness but also on other facilitating or impeding factors related to e.g. the personal living environment (privacy, autonomy and obtrusiveness); the outside world (stigma and human contact); design (personalisability, affordability and safety), and ethics on these subjects.  This section provides recommendations on the implementation of technology in everyday life, for meaningful activities, healthcare technology and technology promoting Social Health.
3.3.3
Health care technologies
3.3.3.9

Ensure the involvement of a dedicated trainer throughout the entire implementation of a complex health technology in nursing/care homes or other institutional settings

Guidance

To improve the implementation of complex health technologies focused on training healthcare professionals in institutional settings, it is important to ensure the involvement of a dedicated trainer throughout the entire implementation process.

Explanation and Examples

For complex health technologies focused on training healthcare professionals, trainers play a crucial role. Trainers should be able to spend dedicated time to deliver the trainings in a specific facility or institution (e.g. nursing home). Hence, they should preferably be paid by a third party or, if paid by the institution, mechanisms should be in place to ensure trainers have dedicated time and training can be delivered.

Ensuring the continuous and long-term involvement of such trainers (e.g. via regional collaborations) could facilitate better implementation of complex health technologies, as timing of the trainings can then be tailored to the needs in a specific context and to the learning needs of the professionals in this context.

Themes

Target groups

Type of evidence

Rose Miranda (INDUCT ESR 11)

Cluster RCT and process evaluation of cluster RCT

Annelien van Dael (INDUCT ESR 12)

Cluster RCT and process evaluation of cluster RCT

References

  1. Oosterveld-Vlug M. Evaluating the implementation of the PACE Steps to Success Programme in long-term care facilities in seven countries according to the REAIM framework. Implement Sci. 2019;14:107.
  2. Van den Block L, Honinx E, Pivodic L, Miranda R, Onwuteaka-Philipsen BD, van Hout H, et al. Evaluation of a Palliative Care Program for Nursing Homes in 7 Countries The PACE Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2020;180(2):233–42
  3. Pivodic, L.*, Wendrich-van Dael, A.*, Gilissen, J., Deliens, L., Vander Stichele, R., Gastmans, C. & Van den Block, L. Effectiveness of a complex advance care planning intervention in nursing homes: a cluster randomised controlled trial. Palliative Medicine, 2022, 36, 7
    https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163221102
  4. Wendrich-van Dael, A., Gilissen, J., Deliens, L., Vander Stichele, R., Gastmans, C., Pivodic, L.* & Van den Block, L.* Implementation of advance care planning in nursing homes in Flanders, Belgium: a mixed-methods process evaluation of the ACP+ trial (submitted)
  5. Wendrich-van Dael, A.E. (2021). Advance care planning, dementia and nursing homes. VUB-Press. ISBN: 9789461171603