Teaching staff to respond effectively to cognitively impaired residents who display self-protective behaviors.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was implementedto evaluate the effectiveness of a 71/2 hour educational program designed to provide staff with the knowledge, skill, and confidence to manage physical self-protective behaviors of cognitively impaired long-term care residents. This RCT using a pretest/post-test design was conducted using consenting staff members (n = 40) who were randomly allocated to either a control or experimental group. The main outcome measure was a skills lab that evaluated participants’ responses to simulated patients. Both groups participated in the skills lab prior to training, and six weeks after the experimental group completed the program. Pre-and post-training and skills lab observational field notes were subjected to thematic content analysis. Twenty-eight staff members completed both pre-and post-training assessment measurements. Descriptive statistics and paired t-test analyses yielded statistically significant differences in change scores for performance indicators in th...