Increasing Educator Resources for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Using a Knowledge-to-Action Framework: The...

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Neuroscience
• Gerontology

Background:

• An educational deficit exists in speech-language pathology (SLP) graduate programs regarding the assessment and treatment of cognitive-communication disorders (CCDs) in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD).
• This gap can lead to suboptimal SLP services for this growing patient population.
• Enhancing SLP education is crucial for improving care quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the educational gap in SLP training for CCDs associated with MCI and AD.
• To improve the quality of future SLP service providers for this population.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted to assess current SLP graduate education practices for MCI and AD-related CCDs.
• Focus groups with SLP educators informed the development of an online educational resource.
• A knowledge-to-action (KTA) framework guided the translation of findings into an implementable resource.

Main Results:

• SLP educators identified a significant need for accessible resources to teach and supervise students on MCI and AD-related CCDs.
• Feedback from focus groups on the existing TalkBank Grand Rounds resource was instrumental.
• The development of a new, tailored educational resource was directly informed by educator input.

Conclusions:

• DementiaBank Grand Rounds, an online educational resource, was successfully created using the KTA framework.
• This resource aims to support both learners and educators in addressing the identified knowledge and clinical education gap.
• DementiaBank Grand Rounds offers a potential solution to enhance SLP competency in managing CCDs in MCI and AD.