Exploring Staff Training In The Use Of Monitoring Technologies In Care Homes

Introduction: This study explores facilitators and barriers to implementation of monitoring technologies in nursing and residential care homes for people with dementia. Methods: A Yinian case study approach [1], with participants recruited from three dementia-specialist care homes in North-West-England. Each home used nurse call systems and body-worn and environmental technologies to monitor resident and staff activity. Data collection included 36 semi-structured interviews with staff, relatives and residents, and 175 hours of non-participant observation; review of care records and technology manufacturer literature; Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale and the System Usability Scale. Analysis, informed by Normalization Process Theory, focused on individual and organisational factors influential within successful implementation. Results: In each home, staff training in use of monitoring technologies appeared to be informal, ad hoc, and based upon assumptions that staff would find the technologies familiar and simple to use. Staff lacked full operational knowledge of the technologies, and at times triggered false alarms. However, it was not clear that increasing the quantity of formal operational training would have enhanced staff knowledge and skill. Staff drew upon contextual knowledge of the homes to work around their lack of operational knowledge of the technologies. Staff placed a relatively low value upon the use of some technologies compared to personal delivery of care. Key conclusions: Staff training in the use of monitoring technologies needs to go beyond simple operational instruction to include a focus on how the use of the technology aligns with the values of care within the home. Reference [1] Yin RK. Case study research: design and methods. London: Sage, 2009.