Objective
Self-efficacy represents one possible avenue through which cognitive interventions may enhance cognitive functioning in older adults (e.g., Payne et al., 2012; Seeman, McAvay, Merrill, Albert, & Rodin, 1996). In the current study, we examined whether self-efficacy serves as a predictor of responsiveness to cognitive speed of processing training (SOPT).
Method
We used data from the Staying Keen in Later Life (SKILL) study and the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. Both studies assessed cognitive speed of processing (Useful Field of View Test – UFOV) and self-efficacy and randomized community-dwelling older adults into either SOPT or control conditions. The SKILL study included 228 older adults and the ACTIVE study included 1,400 adults in either speed of processing training or control conditions. We constructed regression models examining self-efficacy as a predictor of training responsiveness.
Results
Regression analysis from both studies indicated that participants’ self-efficacy scores were not predictive of training gains from SOPT, as measured by UFOV performance.
Discussion
Self-efficacy does not affect an older adults’ ability to benefit from process-based cognitive SOPT.
Clinical training opportunities in end-of-life care are lacking, especially in home settings where death is expected and supported as a natural process. The Community Action, Research and Education (CARE) program provides students who are interested in healthcare a better understanding the challenges of providing end-of-life care. Over 8 weeks, undergraduate students serve as surrogate family members providing care to hospice patients in residential homes for the dying. Additionally, students engage with a formal curriculum by completing online learning modules each emphasizing different skills for providing end-of-life care. This study analyzed data from three cohorts of undergraduate students (n = 21) who participated in the CARE Program. Analyses from assessment surveys revealed that students reported improved knowledge and skills, including enhanced bedside education and training and increased ability to care for someone at the end-of-life after completion of the program. Also, 95% (n = 20) of students over the three cohorts reported that the formal coursework enhanced skills and training related to bedside care. Previous research has examined end of life training in a professional school setting, but the focus was on care in an institutional or facility setting (Billings et al., 2010; Supiano, 2013). The CARE program is a model for experiential learning in a home setting that provides a special lens to the dying experience in a holistic, patient and family centered way.
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