Attending Staff Research Articles

P-198. Simulation: Advancing Healthcare Worker Education for C. diff

Abstract Background Use of scenario-based simulation for healthcare personal (HCP) in the prevention of healthcare associated infections remains an area that is proving to have positive educational effects. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) 2022 Recommendations ongoing assessment and reinforced education of CDI knowledge for HCPs. Methods This simulation was developed as a learning intervention to increase the functional skills of bedside HCPs. An interdisciplinary team created a thirty-minute escape room theme for personal protective equipment, diagnostic stewardship processes. Focused objectives included C. difficile laboratory testing indications, functional ability to locate the facility algorithm for collection and testing, direct hands-on use of personal protective equipment, hospital disinfectant use, appropriate hand hygiene, and the correct use of isolation signage for the facility was demonstrated. HCP participants were sent a post participation evaluation utilizing a Likert Scale. Staff Attendance During First Week of Simulation for C.diff Escape Room Staff Attendance During First Week of Simulation for C.diff Escape Room Results A total of sixty-three HCP participated in the first week. Thirty-three registered nurses (52%), twenty-one nurses’ aides (33%), three clinical pharmacists (5%), three registered cardiovascular invasive specialists (5%), two health technicians (3%), and one licensed vocational nurse (2%). Post evaluation of the ”C. diff Escape Room” from thirty-two responses of the sixty-three HCP that participated. (see table 1). Most participants found the scenario-based learning useful, and a significant proportion would use the information and integrate it into their practice within the next six months (87.5% agreed/strongly agreed), facilitators were found to be knowledgeable (68% strongly agreed, 21.9% agreed) and made them feel comfortable (68.8% strongly agreed, 18.8% agreed). Conclusion Scenario-based simulation was an acceptable method to educate a diverse group of HCP on the diagnosis and isolation management of patients with the evaluation or diagnosis of CDI. The utilization of the simulation in a fun environment provided for an educational experience with a focus on key objectives for learning. The event was well received, and overall respondents had positive feedback. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Exploring the Influence of Stage Managers‘ Reports on Theatre Research:A Case Study of Archival Documents

The stage manager’s report is an archival document in Polish theatre, initially created to track the absences and delays of the team working on a performance. However, it offers more than a mere staff attendance list. The report contains the author’s notes throughout the entire production process. By analysing reports from 1972–1982 and comparing them with contemporary reports from 2021–2024 from several public theatres in Warsaw, I will show how a report is a valuable resource for further research, providing insights into the institution where a particular production occurred and the socio-political conditions of its time. I consider my research as a contribution to further and more extensive considerations of the potential of the stage manager’s report as a source material for theatre researchers.

Comparison of vitamin D status in healthy Bangladeshi urban and rural individuals and their association with serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase: A pilot study.

Vitamin D insufficiency is a worldwide problem that is likely underestimated since physical symptoms may only be apparent in individuals with severe deficiencies. Previously, people in South Asian countries were thought to be vitamin D sufficient because of plentiful sunshine, but vitamin D insufficiency has also been reported in these countries. In a South Asian country like Bangladesh, people living in the rural and urban parts of the country can have considerable differences in their sun exposure, types of clothing worn, and levels of air pollution. This pilot study aimed to explore the vitamin D status (measured by serum 25[OH]D) of healthy urban and rural Bangladeshi people and to examine the association of serum 25(OH)D concentration with calcium and alkaline phosphatase concentrations. A total of 101 apparently healthy adult individuals, aged 20-58 years, were enrolled from both urban and rural areas. The participants were selected from students, staff and patient attendants from the outpatient department (OPD) of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and Mirsarai Upazila Health Complex, Chittagong. The overall rate of vitamin D insufficiency was 39.6% and of vitamin D deficiency was 51.5%. However, it was observed that the proportion of vitamin D-deficient participants in urban areas (70.6%) was more than double that of participants living in rural areas (32%) and that serum 25(OH)D concentrations were higher in rural compared to urban participants with similar sunlight exposure times. However, participants aged 50 years or more showed similar concentrations of serum vitamin D levels irrespective of their habitat. This pilot study highlights the need for further larger-scale studies in Bangladesh to determine the reasons for the high rates of vitamin D inadequacy overall and the differences between rural and urban populations.

SMART ATTENDANCE WITH FACE ANTI-SPOOFING TECHNOLOGY USING HAAR CASCADE CLASSIFIER

Traditional attendance systems often encounter challenges in efficiently and accurately recording attendance. This research aims to introduce an innovative solution through the development of an intelligent anti-spoofing attendance system based on facial recognition using the Haar Cascade Classifier method. Designed to overcome the inefficiencies in attendance recording, this system ensures the accuracy of educational staff attendance records. Its development method relies on the Haar Cascade Classifier, employing image processing to detect learned object features, particularly focusing on facial recognition. Research findings indicate that the implementation of this system achieves an average accuracy rate of 98.90% in attendance recording. The facial recognition technology ensures reliable attendance recording with confidence levels exceeding 80%, signifying precise facial identification that addresses various challenges and ensures attendance data integrity. Not only does the system identify educational staff with high accuracy, but it also provides prompt responses for efficient attendance logging and verification. Beyond its technical benefits, this study significantly contributes to the development of smarter and more efficient attendance technology. The system plays a crucial role in enhancing the discipline of educational staff at STMIK IKMI Cirebon and streamlining attendance management and evaluation across educational institutions.

Analisis Sistem Informasi Akuntansi Penggajian Dan Pengupahan Dalam Upaya Pengendalian Internal Pada PT. Srijasa Brika Perkasa Palembang

This research aims to determine the internal control of PT. Srijasa Brika Perkasa as well as payroll and business wage accounting data systems. Descriptive analysis was used in this research. Three approaches were used to obtain data: documentation, observation, and interviews. The analysis findings show that, although there are several weaknesses, internal control has generally been implemented well. One of them is the finance department which still handles many tasks, such as paying salaries and wages to employees, making payroll, and recording attendance. Apart from that, employee attendance list data is still modified manually, so that the list only contains attendance times. In addition, the lack of supervision of staff attendance records shows the company's vulnerability as a result of inadequate internal control systems in payments.

Разработка трудноизвлекаемых запасов угля мобильными горнодобывающими комплексами без постоянного присутствия людей в зоне ведения горных работ

Today, millions of tons of coil remain in the subsoil and are written off as losses. These include hard-to-recover reserves unfit for mining with traditional high-performance means of integrated mechanization. One of the all-purpose technical solutions to the problem of developing such reserves can be technologies using robotic mobile mining equipment based on a heading-and-winning machine and a self-propelled car. Flowcharts for coal deposit development have been designed for seams unfit for mining with integrated mechanization means (medium thick seams, thick seams, flat and steeply inclined seams). These include open-pit and underground mining of marginal reserves from the side of the pit wall and limited reserves from the daytime surface performed by mobile mechanization means. During the operation of these means, the following process operations are repeated: coal breaking, loading into a self-propelled car, transportation along a preset trajectory, unloading into a reloader or other transport vehicle, or a warehouse on the bench. These operations can be robotized, which will increase both the safety and efficiency of coal mining. In order to perform coal-mining operations without constant attendance of maintenance staff, the existing mechanization means must be retrofitted with machine vision and a remote control system. Moreover, a robotized control system for the set of equipment must be developed to resolve the following problems. For the heading-and-winning machine: transportation (feed) along a straight line; transportation along the preset curve (formation of a diagonal entry); coal breaking at the preset thickness; coal breaking within coal-rock boundaries or along a preset cross-sectional contour; loading of broken coal into a self-propelled car; and control of the car loading level. For a self-propelled car: transportation along a preset trajectory from the loading point to the unloading point; control and management of the completeness of loading (unloading).

Team case formulation for challenging behaviour on acute psychiatric wards

Due to the high prevalence of challenging behaviours on acute psychiatric wards, there is a need for more therapeutic interventions that utilize psychological theory to support staff and patients. This study assessed feasibility, effectiveness and mechanisms of multidisciplinary team case formulation to reduce challenging behaviours of patients. This was a cohort study with a pre‐ and post‐formulation analysis of patients from five acute wards. Structured team case formulation sessions were held using an integrative psychological model incorporating cognitive behavioural principles and the Newcastle model. Staff attendance and fidelity to formulation components were recorded. Frequency of staff-rated challenging behaviours and the frequency of incidents of violence and self‐harm pre‐ and one‐week post‐formulation were assessed. To test mechanisms, changes in staff perceptions of the overall frequency of challenging behaviours and the number of incidents of violence and self‐harm were compared to the number of strategies identified, the number of strategies implemented, and the number of staff present. Participants (N = 50) had a range of serious mental health conditions, including 50% with F20???F29 schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorder. Fidelity to formulation model components was found to be high. There was a significant decrease in staff perception of the frequency of patients’ challenging behaviours, with large effect sizes. There was strong evidence of a reduction in the number of violent incidents and self‐harm post‐case formulation. None of the mechanism tests were significant. Case formulation sessions appear to be a feasible and effective intervention to reduce challenging behaviours within acute inpatient care.

School knowledge of infectious diseases in schools: conducting surveillance and on-demand, symptomatic respiratory viral testing in a large pre-kindergarten-12th grade school district.

Limited data about acute respiratory illness (ARI) and respiratory virus circulation are available in congregate community settings, specifically schools. To better characterize the epidemiology of ARI and respiratory viruses in schools, we developed School Knowledge of Infectious Diseases in Schools (School KIDS). School KIDS is a prospective, respiratory viral testing program in a large metropolitan school district (pre-kindergarten-12th grade) in Kansas City, Missouri. During the 2022-2023 school year, all students and staff were eligible to participate in surveillance respiratory viral testing at school by submitting observed self-administered nasal swabs monthly. Participants could also submit a nasal swab for on-demand symptomatic testing when experiencing ≥1 ARI symptom, including cough, fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, shortness of breath, sore throat, and/or wheezing. Swabs were tested in a research laboratory using multipathogen respiratory polymerase chain reaction assays. Participants were evaluated for ongoing viral shedding by collecting two weekly nasal swabs (i.e., convalescent), following initial on-demand symptomatic testing. Participants were asked to complete an electronic survey to capture the presence and type of ARI symptom(s) before the collection of respiratory swabs. From 31 October 2022 to 29 June 2023, School KIDS enrolled 978 participants, including 700 students, representing 3.4% of the district student population, and 278 staff members. Participants submitted a median of six surveillance, one symptomatic, and two convalescent specimens during the study period. A total of 6,315 respiratory specimens, including 4,700 surveillance, 721 on-demand symptomatic, and 894 convalescent specimens, were tested. Overall, a virus was detected in 1,168 (24.9%) surveillance and 363 (50.3%) symptomatic specimens. Of the 5,538 symptom surveys sent to participants before scheduled surveillance testing, 4,069 (73.5%) were completed; ARI symptoms were reported on 1,348 (33.1%) surveys. Respiratory surveillance testing in schools is feasible and provides novel information about respiratory virus detections in students and staff attending school. Schools are an important community setting, and better knowledge of respiratory virus circulation in schools may be useful to identify respiratory virus transmission in the community and assess the impact of effective infection prevention measures.

Aplikasi Absensi Berbasis Android Pada Sekolah Boarding Sebagai Transformasi Digital Bidang Pendidikan

Boarding schools require students and staff to reside on campus for a set period, necessitating high levels of security and comfort to optimize educational outcomes through effective human resource management. Managing staff and student attendance is crucial in these settings, exemplified by the manual attendance system at Insan Cendikia Magnet School in Bogor. However, manual systems often suffer from inefficiencies, inaccuracies leading to data errors, fraud, and real-time monitoring challenges. To address these issues, this study developed a digital attendance system using FlutterFlow, employing barcode scanning for both academic and non-academic staff. Implementation of this system improved digital attendance processes, with testing confirming its reliable performance. The system effectively met user needs and conditions, integrating attendance data with real-time reporting features. These accessible reports facilitate evaluation and decision-making regarding staff attendance.

Increasing Follow-Up Appointment Completion Rates in Transitions of Care.

Noncompletion of follow-up appointment requests is an ongoing problem due to competing staff responsibilities, technology challenges, and inadequate communication during hospital transitions to post-acute care. From 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2019, 58% of follow-up appointments requested by an acute care hospital on discharge were not ordered after transition of care to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) and 44% of SNF residents were readmitted to acute care within 30days. The follow-up appointment completion rate was 42%. Barriers associated with poor attendance of follow-up appointments were not documented. The purpose of the study is to implement a follow-up appointment completion protocol to increase follow-up appointment completion rates and identify barriers to decrease hospital readmission rates with the use of a computerized clinical information system. A 232-bed for-profit, corporate-owned SNF in the west suburb of Chicago that offers a variety of services in addition to skilled nursing care including short-term rehabilitation, physical therapy, and long-term care. An attendance log was utilized to evaluate stakeholder agreement and completion of staff training. Data were collected electronically via a password-protected Microsoft Excel spreadsheet by the project director to evaluate the completion of orders placed for follow-up appointments and chart audits were completed. A quantitative data analysis was completed to obtain the percentage of the number of key stakeholders in agreement of interventions, staff attendance to training sessions, and residents whose orders for follow-up appointments were entered into PointClickCare (PCC). To evaluate the barriers identified, completion of follow-up appointments, hospital readmission rates, and chart audits were completed throughout the project implementation and data were collected electronically via a password-protected Microsoft Excel spreadsheet by the project director. Post implementation data were collected biweekly for 1 month, and then again for 1, 2, and 3 months throughout the project implementation. A quantitative data analysis was completed to obtain the percentage of barriers identified, completion of follow-up appointments, and hospital readmission rates. 81% of admitted residents to the short-term care stay unit had orders for follow-up appointments. The follow-up appointment completion rate increased to 46% and the readmission rate decreased by 20%. Barriers were identified as non-scheduled appointments and resident refusal. Implementing a follow-up appointment protocol can significantly enhance the quality of patient care and operational efficiency. Regular follow-up appointments allow health care professionals to assess progress, manage medications, detect complications early, and provide necessary guidance and interventions for optimal outcomes. A follow-up appointment protocol can help streamline transitions between levels of care, ensuring patients receive timely and appropriate services.

What supports are people with intellectual disability living in group homes provided to access health care? A case study

AbstractBackgroundPeople with intellectual disabilities living in group homes often have complex health needs, are high health service users and need support from their service provider to access health services. In Australia, little is known about the types and amounts of these supports.MethodsA case study was conducted on a large Western Australian disability provider of group homes to 160 people with intellectual disability. Over an 18‐month period, including during the COVID‐19 pandemic, the study quantified health service use in hospital‐ and community‐based settings, ways by which the person was supported to access health care and the impact on other people supported by the provider. Economic costs of supporting access to health services were estimated.FindingsOverall, the disability provider supported 160 people in accessing health services an average of 23 times each (n = 3617, median = 20, interquartile range = 10–33) over the 18 months. Support included staff attending with the person (96%), following up with guardian/decision‐maker (50%), additional resourcing via overtime or staff backfills (6%) and transport (94%). The average cost of supporting one health visit was estimated at $78.51 AUD (2021). Impact on the person's household included loss of opportunity for housemates (30%), reduced supervision within the home (79%) and longer timeframes to complete care needs (32%). The impact of COVID‐19 restrictions saw a reduction in allied and mental health service use that did not return to prepandemic levels following the cessation of restrictions. Primary care, specialist, outpatient, pathology and emergency service use was also lower in the postrestriction period compared to the prepandemic period.ConclusionsFor people living in group homes, the disability provider plays an essential role in supporting health service access, primarily through the provision of support staff and transport. The change in health service utilisation following the COVID‐19 restriction period indicates that altered health system priorities can potentially exacerbate access inequality for people with intellectual disability.

Design and Implementation of NFC-based Staff Attendance Monitoring System

In today's dynamic work environment, efficient attendance management is crucial for organizational productivity. Traditional attendance systems often involve manual processes, leading to inaccuracies, time inefficiencies, and potential security concerns. This paper proposes an innovative solution—NFC[1] (Near Field Communication) based staff attendance system—to address these challenges. The NFC-based staff attendance system[2][3] leverages the capabilities of NFC[1] technology to streamline the attendance tracking process. Each staff member is provided with an NFC-enabled identification card, eliminating the need for manual sign-ins or cumbersome biometric systems. The NFC cards are easily scanned using NFC readers strategically placed at entry points. The implementation of the NFC-based staff attendance system presents several advantages, including improved efficiency, reduced administrative overhead, and enhanced security.

The engagement chasm: Time for competency-based training in employee engagement for healthcare and beyond.

Employee disengagement in healthcare and business is currently at unexceptionally high levels worldwide. Disengagement negatively impacts productivity, profitability, efficiency (waste reduction), innovation, quality, customer satisfaction and experience, staff well-being, safety, mortality, staff attendance, and turnover. Despite its serious detrimental impacts, no dedicated competency-based training curriculum exists for engagement as a competency. To develop a competency-based educational curriculum for an Engagement Competency. A curricular roadmap comprising the following steps was observed 1. Identifying the desired outcomes needed of trainees. These must help fulfill all the Q12 Gallup survey engagement items. 2. Explicitly defining the required Competencies, Entrustable Professional Activities, and Milestones, 3. Selecting the educational activities, and instructional methods, 4. Selecting the tools to assess progress along the milestones, and finally, 5. Designing an evaluation system to assess the outcomes of the engagement competency program. We developed an Engagement Competency Framework with 7 Entrustable Professional activities "rationally and practically" arranged. These are: Envision E1, Embrace E2, Empower E3, Enlighten E4, Empathize E5, Energize E6, and Evaluate E7 (the 7Es). The unfortunate global issue of disengagement in healthcare and in the business arena may be practically tackled by introducing Engagement Competency and training. It should be compulsory for all in the "leadership role". Such training may lead to remarkable performance improvement and a happier, more prosperous, and safer world.

Rancang Bangun Sistem Presensi Biometrik Sidik Jari Berbasis IoT dengan Arduino Node MCU

Presence is a procedure or process that needs to be carried out by all employees or members of a company or agency. The attendance register is a reference and benchmark for assessing, measuring, and determining the quality and quantity of each member or employee of the company or agency. Presentations carried out manually are considered less effective and efficient in terms of time and usage. So it is necessary to build an intelligent attendance system, one of which is by creating an intelligent attendance system that uses IoT-based fingerprint recognition technology with an Arduino controller and outputs to an Internet or intranet server. Based on the results obtained in the research, administrators can float their side servers freely. The time for sending data from the presence device to the server uses the POST method, with an average time of 8 seconds on an intranet network with a maximum distance of 25 meters from the wireless router or access point. By creating this attendance system, it makes it easier for the Surya Pematangsiantar Education Foundation to record the attendance of teachers and staff, especially SMK units.

Implementation Outcomes for the SLUMBER Sleep Improvement Program in Long-Term Care

ObjectivesTo describe the implementation of a mentored staff-delivered sleep program in nursing facilities. DesignModified stepped-wedge unit-level intervention. Setting and ParticipantsThis program was implemented in 2 New York City nursing facilities, with partial implementation (due to COVID-19) in a third facility. MethodsExpert mentors provided staff webinars, in-person workshops, and weekly sleep pearls via text messaging. We used the integrated Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (i-PARiHS) framework as a post hoc approach to describe key elements of the SLUMBER implementation. We measured staff participation in unit-level procedures and noted their commentary during unit workshops. ResultsWe completed SLUMBER within 5 units across 2 facilities and held 15 leadership meetings before and during program implementation. Sessions on each unit included 3 virtual webinar presentations and 4 in-person workshops for each nursing shift, held over a period of 3 to 4 months. Staff attendance averaged >3 sessions per individual staff member. Approximately 65% of staff present on each unit participated in any given session. Text messaging was useful for engagement, educational reinforcement, and encouraging attendance. We elevated staff as experts in the care of their residents as a strategy for staff engagement and behavior change and solicited challenging cases from staff during workshops to provide strategies to address resident behavior and encourage adoption when successful. Conclusions and ImplicationsEngaging staff, leadership, residents, and family of nursing facilities in implementing a multicomponent sleep quality improvement program is feasible for improving nursing facilities’ sleep environment. The program required gaining trust at multiple levels through presence and empathy, and reinforcement mechanisms (primarily text messages). To improve scalability, SLUMBER could evolve from an interdisciplinary investigator-based approach to internal coaches in a train-the-trainer model to effectively and sustainably implement this program to improve sleep quality for facility residents.

Celebrating Australian native foods through hospital foodservices: Engaging patients, staff and the broader community

Objective: The modern Australian diet is largely characterised by too few fruits and vegetables and too many discretionary foods. This is very different to how Indigenous Australians ate prior to colonisation. Native plants and seeds like bush tomatoes, warrigal greens, Kakadu plum and wattleseed are not common features of the contemporary Australian diet. We developed an initiative to incorporate native plants and seeds into a hospital inpatient menu to normalise their use and provide nutrition education to patients, staff and the community of the nutrition and sustainability benefits of native ingredients. Design: Between May and August 2022, the Chef’s Special menu (for privately funded patients) featured Australian native ingredients in all dishes. The nutritional benefits of native foods were communicated to patients through a printed brochure delivered with the menu, to foodservices staff through in-service training, and to the broader community through social media. Setting: Urban hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Method: Data were collected on acceptability, engagement and reach of the education initiative. Results: The initiative was successfully delivered, with more than 8,000 patient brochures distributed, 45 staff attending training, and social media reaching approximately 10,000 people. The most frequently ordered main meal on the menu was grilled snapper (fish) with macadamia Asian herb salad and finger lime. Conclusion: The work highlighted how the patient menu in hospital can serve as a useful tool to communicate nutrition education to patients, staff and the broader community. In addition, we reflect on the many opportunities to continue to celebrate the nutritional benefits of Australian native foods in healthcare settings.

GateGuardian App

The GateGuardian application is a comprehensive mobile solution designed to streamline and enhance access management and security protocols for gated communities, residential complexes, office buildings, and other controlled-access environments. The application provides a range of features aimed at facilitating efficient visitor management, member directory access, staff attendance tracking, parking management, and emergency/society help desk services.The primary objective of the GateGuardian application is to provide residents, security personnel, and management with a centralized platform for managing access permissions, tracking visitor activity, and responding effectively to emergency situations. By leveraging mobile technology, the application offers convenient and real-time access to critical information and functionalities, thereby improving overall security and operational efficiency within the controlled-access environment. Key Words: Access management, data security, gated communities, user friendly.

Research Paper on Staff Attendance Portal

For every organization to succeed, including academic institutions, governmental bodies, and businesses, attendance management is essential. In order to improve their efficacy, organizations must monitor their internal staff, including staff. Monitoring staff attendance in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic has proven to be difficult. Calculating the attendance percentage by hand is quite time-consuming and prone to error, which makes it a major issue. To keep track of staff activities and attendance on a daily basis, an efficient Android application for attendance monitoring has been created. This application stores a photograph, along with the time and location of attendance, in a database

Practicalities of promoting practice-based learning in end of life care for care home staff: Lessons from "online" supportive conversations and reflection sessions.

Deaths in care homes and "at home" are anticipated to account for a third of UK deaths by 2040. Currently, palliative and end of life care are not part of statutory training in care homes. Reflective practice is a tool that can facilitate practice-based learning and support. Following a feasibly study to test "online" supportive conversations and reflection sessions (OSCaRS) to support care home staff in relation to death/dying during the first months of the COVID pandemic, a one-year practice development follow-up project was undertaken with the aim to create a team of NHS/specialist palliative care (SPC)-based facilitators to lead and support OSCaRS provision in up to 50 care homes in one region in Scotland-the focus of this paper. Forty care home managers attended an on-line session explaining the project, with a similar session held for 19 NHS/SPC-based nurses external to care homes. Those interested in facilitating OSCaRS then attended three education sessions. records of all activities; reflective notes on OSCaRS organised/delivered; a summary of each OSCaRS reflection/learning points; final interviews with NHS/SPC trainee facilitators. A total of 19 NHS/SPC facilitators delivered one or more OSCaRS in 22 participating care homes. However, as of January 2022 only six trained facilitators remained active. Out of the 158 OSCaRS arranged, 96 took place with a total of 262 staff attending. There were three important aspects that emerged: the role, remit, and resources of NHS/SPC supporting OSCaRS; requirements within care homes for establishing OSCaRS; and, the practice-based learning topics discussed at each OSCaRS. Attempts to establish a team of NHS/SPC facilitators to lead OSCaRS highlights that end of life care education in care homes does not clearly fall within the contractual remit of either group or risks being missed due to more pressing priorities.

SUCCESSFUL CARE CONFERENCES: NURSING HOME STAFF, PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA AND CAREGIVER PERSPECTIVES

Abstract Work demands of the care team, time constraints, and a lack of guidance from the regulatory environment often result in short, perfunctory mandated quarterly care conferences (e.g., care plan meetings) that lack focus on resident preferences. Me & My Wishes is a video recording approach for documenting, viewing, listening, and discussing nursing home (NH) residents’ living with dementia preferences for daily and end-of-life in care conferences. As part of a study adapting Me & My Wishes for remote delivery, we used a qualitative descriptive design to conduct focus groups (February – June 2023) with experts representing persons living with dementia (PLWD) (n=6), informal care partners (CPs) (n=8), and NH staff (n=9) to inform us of what comprises a successful care conference. We coded and analyzed audio-recorded transcripts, resolved coding discrepancies in team meetings, and derived domains from finalized codes. All groups discussed three primary domains characterizing a successful care conference: 1) resident- engagement; 2) key staff and CPs identified and engaged to support the resident perspective; and 3) structured meetings led by trained facilitators for resident-centered discussion and problem-solving. NH Experts noted that a facilitator who anticipates and mitigates potential barriers (e.g., conflicting discourse) is key for a successful care plan meeting. PLWD identified providing technology assistance for the resident and CPs as important. Care conferences that allow virtual attendance of staff and CPs who know the resident well, are resident-driven, and are well organized can facilitate communication and problem solving resulting in improved resident-centered care.