Enhancing Dementia Knowledge and Self-Efficacy of In-Home Supportive Services Caregivers Through Online Training.

California's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program provides vital home care to low-income consumers, some of whom live with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD). Yet, most IHSS caregivers receive little or no training in dementia care. We present preliminary descriptive results of the IHSS + ADRD Training Project, a 10-week, competency-based, dementia training program, delivered online, for IHSS caregivers, in Alameda County. Increase in dementia knowledge and self-efficacy at training completion supports the importance of continuing and expanding this work.

Competency-based training for in-home supportive services providers of consumers with ADRD.

The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program in California provides direct care for low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Yet, the vast majority of these workers receive little to no training in caring for consumers, especially those with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). We developed and implemented a competency-based training program for IHSS caregivers who provide care for persons with ADRD. The 10-week, 35-hour program consisted of training modules with topics ranging from roles and rights of the care recipient to assisting with personal hygiene, with a focus on managing ADRD-related behaviors. The in-person training was delivered in English and Spanish to two cohorts of 30 IHSS workers each. Fifty-seven participants completed the training program; the majority in both trainings were female (79%) and self-identified as Latina (70%). There were statistically significant gains post-intervention in overall confidence in caregiving skills and knowledge among all participants.