Development and implementation of online training modules on abuse, neglect, and exploitation

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Social Work Education

Background:

• Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation pose significant risks to vulnerable populations.
• Care managers play a crucial role in identifying and reporting potential abuse.
• Targeting the dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid population for abuse prevention training is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an online training program for care managers focused on identifying, reporting, and preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
• To assess the effectiveness of the training modules in improving care managers' knowledge.

Main Methods:

• Development of a three-module online training program covering background, screening, and reporting of abuse.
• Enrollment of 453 care managers, with 273 completing at least one module and 212 completing all three.
• Pre- and post-training surveys analyzed using the related-samples Cochran's Q statistic to measure knowledge changes.

Main Results:

• Significant knowledge improvements were observed in the modules related to the background of abuse and reporting procedures.
• No significant knowledge improvement was found in the module on communication principles and screening for abuse.
• The lack of improvement in the screening module may be attributed to prior familiarity with the content among trainees (social workers and nurses).

Conclusions:

• The online training effectively enhanced knowledge regarding the background and reporting of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
• Further adaptation of training content is needed, particularly for screening modules, to address potential content familiarity among experienced professionals.
• Lessons learned will inform broader dissemination efforts to increase public awareness of elder abuse prevention.