The Development and Process Evaluation of the ACTION Study. A Person-centred Communication Intervention Targeting Nursing Staff in Home Care for Older Persons

Background: Person-centred communication is important to assure the quality of home care services and to promote older persons independence and influence over their lives. Previous research indicates challenges regarding communication between professionals and home care recipients, and how to deliver efficient educational efforts in the home care context. Hitherto, research on design and implementation of this type of intervention is scarce. Aims and objectives: To describe the development and process evaluation of an education intervention in person-centred communication for nursing staff (NS) in home care. Method: The web-based education consisted of eight modules, including short video based lectures and movies, one group supervision, and reflective assignments. The content was based on previous research of health care communication and person-centred care. Data was collected from multiple sources (web analytics, interviews, evaluation forms, and field notes), before, during and after the implementation, and analysed by a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results: In all, 23 NS participated in the education. Initial analysis indicate that a majority of the participants completed six or more modules. Overall, the content was experienced as relevant and interesting. The flexibility and accessibility of the web-based format was appreciated, as well as the mix of lectures, short movies, reflective assignments and group supervision. Challenges included developing content relevant to work teams with diverse competence levels and individual differences (e.g. age, language, motivation). Furthermore, time constrains and structure of work emerged as barriers for implementing the education, in some cases adding stress and fragmentation to NS´ work. Conclusions: This type of intervention seems to be a feasible approach for flexible educations in person-centred communication for NS. Engagement and commitment from managers and team leaders may be key factors in succeeding, with impact on participants´ motivation to fulfil the education