An educational intervention to improve communication skills in home care – a feasibility study

Background

An educational intervention focused on person-centred communication with older persons in home care was developed. Twenty-three nursing assistants (NAs) from two home care units were offered the intervention. This feasibility study was conducted to capture benefits and pit falls with study processes before large scale interventions, such as acceptability and appropriateness of evaluation methods.

Aim

To explore the feasibility of proposed methods for evaluating a novel educational intervention on person-centered communication for NAs in home care.

Method

Feasibility study with pre- and post-assessments, including evaluation of data collection procedures, completion rates, and missing data for two questionnaires: Self-efficacy Questionnaire measuring communication skills and Measure of Job Satisfaction. Descriptive and statistical analysis was conducted. 

Results

The results showed a completion rate of 83% and 61% in pre- and post-assessment respectively, and a low proportion of missing data. The questionnaires were feasible and acceptable for NAs to complete and understand. Stress due to staff shortages and high workload negatively affected NAs’ participation in data collection. Overall, NAs rated their communication skills as high with a tendency towards higher communication self-efficacy after the intervention, however, this difference was not statistically significant. Job satisfaction remained unchanged pre- and post-intervention.

Conclusion

Low follow-up rates suggest that the data collection procedures need refinement. Although the outcomes are preliminary at this point, they indicate a ceiling effect in NAs’ self-efficacy ratings. The ceiling effect limits possibilities for improvement and suggests that studies with a larger sample is needed.

Implications for caring in a changing world

In a changing world, where a rapid aging population challenges home care services, there is a need for innovative interventions that support and strengthen health care professionals’ communication skills, aiming at improving older persons’ well-being This study contributes with knowledge to the complexity of developing and evaluating complex interventions on communication in home care.