Conduct educational meetings and provide ongoing training to support care professionals to use pet robots for dementia caregiving
Guidance
Care staff should be educated about the use of pet robots in dementia care through educational meetings that are tailored to the needs of different staff. In addition, they should be provided with ongoing trainings to support them in applying this knowledge as part of their delivery of dementia care.
Explanation and examples
In a modified Delphi study involving 56 international experts (care professionals, organisational leaders and researchers), educational meetings and ongoing trainings are identified as critical strategies to support the implementation of pet robots in long-term care facilities. The purpose of conducting educational meetings is to provide care staff with overall knowledge on the role of pet robots for dementia care. Such sessions should be tailored to the different needs of each care professional. Examples of content may include:
- Evidence supporting the use of pet robots in dementia care, such as information about their impacts on residents, who may benefit and who may be at risk of distress
- How pet robots can support caregiving
While the purpose of education is to provide overall knowledge about pet robots, the purpose of conducting ongoing training is to support care professionals to acquire practical skills and confidence to use pet robots in dementia care giving. Examples include:
- On-the-job training
- Structured supervision
- Training based on each staff experiences/knowledge.
Themes
Care homes Implementation research Implementation strategies Long-term care Nursing home Older adults Pet robots Social robots Training
Target groups
Dementia care organisations (nursing homes & day care centres) Dementia researchers Healthcare professionalsType of evidence
Wei Qi Koh (DISTINCT ESR12)
Collaborator: Viktoria Hoel (DISTINCT ESR9)
Qualitative study, modified Delphi study
References
Koh, W.Q., Toomey, E., Flynn, A. & Casey, D. (2022). Determinants of implementing of pet robots in nursing homes for dementia care. BMC Geriatrics, 22(1), 457, 1-12. doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03150-z
Koh, W. Q., Casey, D., Hoel, V., & Toomey, E. (2022). Strategies for implementing pet robots in care homes and nursing homes for residents with dementia: protocol for a modified Delphi study. Implementation Science Communications, 3(1), 58, 1-10. doi.org/10.1186/s43058-022-00308-z
Koh, W. Q., Hoel, V., Casey, D., & Toomey, E. (2022). Strategies to Implement Pet Robots in Long-Term Care Facilities for Dementia Care: A Modified Delphi Study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2022.09.010
Useful links
https://implementationsciencecomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s43058-022-00308-z
https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-022-03150-z
https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(22)00746-0/fulltext
As training manager of INDUCT, I am responsible for the overall coordination and organization of the individual and network-wide training of our 15 ESRs. My main task is the organization of five INDUCT Summer and Winter Schools. Together with the local and management team, we identify needs and interests among the ESRs, compose a varied program for the week including training sessions, project meetings and social and networking events, invite academic and non-academic expert speakers, organize practical matters, and afterwards we evaluate the event, write a report, and try to incorporate all suggestions in our future training events.