PRACTICE CONCEPTS Effectiveness of Continuing Education in Long-Term Care: A Literature Review

Purpose: This review of the literature examines the effectiveness of continuing education programs in long-term care facilities. Design and Methods: A comprehensive literature search was made for evaluation studies and included computerized biblio-graphic databases, manual searches of journals, the bibliographies of retrieved articles, and information from key informants. Results: Forty-eight studies met our selection criteria. Rigorous research in this area has been limited. Because of the lack of follow-up evaluation, there is minimal evidence that knowledge gained from training programs is sustained in the long term. Most studies do not consider organiza-tional and system factors when planning and implementing training initiatives. This may accoun