Towards web-based adaptive learning on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia care for nursing staff of long-term care facilities: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background Continuing education in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) is faced with a transition to distance learning, such as web-based education, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. As behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are managed by integrative direct care of nursing staff that includes nurses, nursing assistants, and care workers whose educational background and needs are diverse, an effective and efficient web-based education with concrete pedagogical and theoretical basis is needed. In this context, adaptive learning could be considered an innovative educational strategy that enables individual approaches to focus on only the necessary elements by adapting time and content according to individual needs. Therefore, we aimed to develop an adaptive learning web-based BPSD education system for LTCFs nursing staff.Methods The adaptive learning web-based BPSD education was developed based on the frameworks of BPSD education and adaptive learning models. The system was developed as a Google Chrome-based website with an embedded artificial intelligence chatbot that promoted an interactive learning experience. The educational program was evaluated with a multisite single-blinded quasi-experimental design. The experimental group (N = 28) received an adaptive learning system that allowed learners to adapt the educational content according to their prior knowledge. The control group (N = 30) received a web-based learning system that could not be adapted.Results All components of learning effectiveness, including BPSD competence, BPSD knowledge, and self-efficacy, were significantly improved in the experimental group compared with the control group (p = .036; p = .003; and p = .002; respectively). System satisfaction was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (p = .002), and 75% of the participants in the experimental group actively adapted their individual educational contents.Conclusions This study developed and evaluated an adaptive learning web-based BPSD education system for LTCF nursing staff. From a pedagogical theory and educational framework basis, it was identified that the adaptive learning system had positive outcomes on learning and system effectiveness, which suggest an innovative strategy toward a ‘new normal’ education for nursing staff of LTCFs in the post-COIVD-19 era.