Home Healthcare Hazard Training Through Virtual Simulation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Darragh A ; Lavender S ; Polivka BJ ; Sommerich C ; Stredney D ; Wills C
• Description:
  The growing number of Home Health Aides and Personal Care Aides is expected to exceed 4.1 million by 2026. Increases in home healthcare services and workers are attributed to the aging population, increased outpatient care, decreased hospital lengths of stay, cost savings, and patient preferences. Home environments are more challenging and variable than other healthcare work environments. In 2015 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported incidence rates for home health aides and personal care assistants, at 117.9 and 132, respectively, exceeded the average rate of 93.9 cases per 10,000 workers for private industry as a whole. 60% of home health aide injuries have been reported to occur inside patient homes and are associated with patient handling tasks, medical devices, equipment, and other environmental factors. Given the increase in healthcare provided in homes, and hazards faced by home healthcare workers (HHWs), it is critical that these workers receive appropriate occupational safety and health training to be able to identify, assess, and respond to hazards in client's homes. This project addressed this training need by developing and assessing the efficacy of an appealing, interactive, widely-distributable, virtual simulation training system (VSTS). Using a rigorous, interdisciplinary, participatory, and iterative design process and mixed methods research approach, a VSTS was created that includes a tutorial, orientation, three training modules (Electrical/Fire/Burn, Slip/Trip/Lift, and Environmental hazards) and Assessment module that trains and assesses ability of HHWs to identify and respond to occupational health and safety hazards in client homes. Key findings: Phase 1: Interviews and focus groups with 68 experienced HHWs confirmed that they encounter a wide range of hazards in client homes, including fall/trip/slip hazards, biohazards, air quality issues, allergens, pests/rodents, and burning candles; each was mentioned by >50% of participants. Data analysis also revealed that >50% of hazard management decisions discussed by participants were less than optimal, confirming the need for training to go beyond hazard identification to include response training. Phase 2: Results from usability assessments of the VSTS were used, in an action research approach, to address usability issues as they were identified. Phase 3: Training program efficacy was demonstrated through an experiment, wherein 54 HHW and 39 healthcare profession students (occupational or physical therapy, or nursing) were randomly allocated to experimental training (VSTS) or standard training (training information printed on paper with illustrations). Performance results were similar between the groups (e.g. similar numbers of hazards correctly identified). The experimental group also provided usability assessments that showed large majorities of users found the VSTS to be easy to use and anticipated that their co-workers would quickly learn how to use it. Further analysis revealed that VSTS usability was not affected by computer use history or computer gaming experience. Analysis also revealed opportunities for improving the VSTS (e.g., providing alternative channels for conveying content, given the significant amount of reading currently required when using the VSTS). The VSTS is accessible to anyone who would like to use it, and plans are being developed for broader scale effectiveness testing. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Health Personnel Home Care Services Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Communication Systems Effectiveness Research Hazard Identification Health Care Workers Home Health Care Injury Prevention Medical Personnel Risk Assessment Simulation Methods Training Research Virtual Reality

  More +
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Kentucky ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-37
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052415
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-101541
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R01-OH-010425, 2018 Mar; :1-37
• Contact Point Address:
  Barbara J. Polivka, RN, PhD, University of Louisville School of Nursing, 555 S. Floyd St., Louisville, Kentucky 40202
• Email:
  barbara.polivka@louisville.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Performing Organization:
  University of Louisville
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20130901
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20171231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:33c57e9b11638963f363b38d7e2457a9a765a401de2fdf0a59714db2c726a699d84a958f5bb96bce7f5e354b2ff62bff35c426706f5bd2ff952137fc6c99cb25
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218705/cdc_218705_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.58 MB ]