An education program on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis communication support was conducted for students on medical, nursing, rehabilitation, and clinical psychiatry courses. We investigated how the participants' knowledge was maintained over time. A pre-/post-test was undertaken to evaluate knowledge acquisition through the program. The primary version consisted of 10 questions developed from 26 items extracted in a textbook (by Imura) and was applied to 23 students attending the same two sessions 6 months apart. The average pre-test score was 6.2 +/-2.1; the post-test score was 7.3 +/-1.6 (p = 0.023). However, no difference was evident in the pre-test and post-test scores between the two sessions. The test appeared able to detect knowledge acquisition following a single session; however, it was difficult for the participants to retain the knowledge acquired from a single session over a period of 6 months.
Background: Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) requires ongoing support but few studies describing AAC training for healthcare professionals were found. Method: We developed a short-term education program on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis communication support for undergraduate students in multiple healthcare disciplines. The program comprised lectures plus practice of three AAC methods. Participants were 58 students from four courses at four Japanese universities who completed the program twice, at 6-month intervals. Effects of the program on 'Beginners' (taking the program for the first time) and 'Experienced' (repeating the course 6 months later) were evaluated using pre-test/ post-test scores, number of letters transmitted in 5 min, subjective burden indicated on visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after each AAC trial, and free-text comments. Results: An increase in scores was shown from the first to the second pre-test. Number of letters generated in 5 min was higher for the Experienced group than for Beginners with the exception of one AAC device. VAS change rate for the Kuchimoji method was lower in the Experienced group than for Beginners. Text-mining of participants' comments showed lower eyestrain reported in the Experienced group. Conclusions: This study suggests that participants' knowledge of AAC for communication support of people with ALS was retained 6 months after completing the short training program, and hands-on AAC experience helped them develop their skills and reduce the perceived subjective burden.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis brings various communication disorders. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies can provide effective solutions but require ongoing support from the multidisciplinary team. We planned a repeating half-day training program on communication support and delivered it to healthcare students at 4 Japanese universities. We investigated the difference in perceived burden of using AAC between "Experienced" participants who had completed training 6 months prior and "Beginner" participants using AAC for the first time, as revealed in their written comments left after AAC use. KH Coder data mining software was used to identify "characteristic" words in the comments. Fifty-eight participants (completing 105 training sessions) participated in the program, The text mining revealed that "eyestrain" was less frequently expressed by Experienced participants than by Beginners, suggesting that a single prior AAC training experience could reduce the burden of use.
Augmentative and alternative communication has been used as support for patients with communication disorders. We made a half-day training program on communication support for patients with neurodegenerative disorders, especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and implemented it for students in multiple healthcare disciplines at 4 universities. Participants took part in the same training program twice at half-year intervals. We defined the group that took the course for the first time as "Beginners" and the group that took the course 6 months previously as "Experienced". Fifty-eight participants (105 trials) were obtained from 4 universities and 4 faculties. Beginners' test scores increased after taking the course. These scores decreased again in the pre-test score 6 months later. However, the score was better than the pre-test score at the time of the first attendance. With the wait-list control design with half-year intervals, the pre-/ post-test scores suggested that participants retained a certain level of knowledge for 6 months.
We designed and implemented a short-term educational program with practical experiences for students on communication support for patients with neurodegenerative disorders. We aimed to (1) clear and dissolve the factor of burden in communication through students' understanding, (2) evaluate and maintain the effects of understanding this burden through practical experiences. Two lectures and one experience session that included a three method communication trial was conducted four times every 6 months. The students learned this program two consecutive times. The burden was recorded and evaluated by a visual analog scale (VAS) before/after using the three methods. A difference in the trend between the beginners' and experienced group was found-the former felt that communication would be possible by using some tools before the experience. While comparing the before/after experience, the significant differences found in the beginners' group was higher as compared to the experienced group. Almost no significant difference was found between (a) the same 1st and 2nd item and (b) the after 1st and before 2nd experience. The VAS of the before experience had high significant difference before it eventually transitioned to low. The burden was low while using any tool with a good timing or signal to the device or partner. We presume that participants understood the factor of burden and found a solution during the 1st experience to realize it at re-learning. Therefore, maintaining experiences 6 months apart, suggested the effect of repeated learning.
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