Improving Competency in Safe Patient Handling Through Online Learning Beyond the Classroom: A Longitudinal Study

IMPORTANCE

Safe patient handling is intrinsic in health care provision, yet education in the skills required for safe patient handling is inconsistently delivered, with limited evidence that traditional face-to-face training reduces risk.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the long-term effectiveness of replacing annual practical handling updates with an online training system, combined with competency assessment of skill and safety.

DESIGN

Quasi-experimental longitudinal 3-yr study to track practical people handling skill development among undergraduate occupational therapy students. All participants had access to a multimedia online training system (that replaced tutor-led practical training), used in combination with annual competency evaluations to measure skills and safety in four people handling tasks.

SETTING

All competency assessment took place on site in the School of Health and Society, University of Salford (Salford, United Kingdom).

PARTICIPANTS

Undergraduate BSc(Hons) occupational therapy students (N = 243). Outcomes and Measures: Participants attended individual 45-min competency evaluations at three data collection points: beginning of Years 2 and 3 and end of Year 3. Data were collected by trained assessors using a competency assessment tool.

RESULTS

Results demonstrate significant increases in skill level for sit-to-stand and repositioning in the chair (p < .05) and for hoisting and slide sheet maneuvers (p < .0001). Participants achieved 100% safety scores for repositioning in the chair and hoisting.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Students using the online system performed significantly better than students receiving traditional annual practical updates, providing an evidence base to reduce tutor-led training hours while increasing skill and safety levels using a combination of the online system and competency assessment. What This Article Adds: This approach was found to reinforce safe handling techniques and increase independence, competency, and safety of service users and caregivers working in health and social care environments while reducing time spent delivering annual people handling updates. The findings support replacement of face-to-face training updates, particularly in the current climate of social distancing.

Digital technologies in undergraduate and postgraduate education in occupational therapy and physiotherapy: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this scoping review was to map research in the use of digital technologies in occupational therapy and physiotherapy education in terms of the type of digital technology used, how the digital technology is applied, and the author-reported outcomes of digital technology use.

INTRODUCTION

The ubiquitous nature of digital technology has influenced higher education, offering benefits of integrating digital technologies into curricula. However, the extent of the application of digital technologies in higher education in occupational therapy and physiotherapy warrants investigation. This scoping review mapped the reported applications of digital technology in both undergraduate and postgraduate occupational therapy and physiotherapy education.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

Research studies on the use of digital technology in undergraduate and/or postgraduate education in occupational therapy and/or physiotherapy were considered for inclusion in this scoping review.

METHODS

A comprehensive search strategy using multiple databases was employed to find relevant studies. Keywords and the derivatives of "digital technology," "education," "occupational therapy" and "physiotherapy" were used. The databases searched included MEDLINE via PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), EBSCOhost Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost ERIC, EBSCOhost MasterFILE Premier, EBSCOhost CINAHL Complete, OT Database, OT Seeker and Scopus. Google Scholar was also searched. The filter "humans" was applied, where possible. Peer-reviewed qualitative and quantitative research studies were considered for inclusion. Owing to the rapid development of technologies, studies that were published from January 2013 to April 2019 were included. This review only included papers available in English. The relevant studies and their reported outcomes were organized and analyzed thematically.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 2853 articles. Title, abstract and full-text review yielded 52 suitable papers meeting criteria. The final data set represented 4038 participants. Data were analyzed according to three main categories, namely, type of technology used, application of digital technology and author-reported outcomes. The review showed that occupational therapy and physiotherapy educators have used a wide variety of digital technologies, including quizzes, videos, social media, learning management systems and content repositories. Digital technologies have been applied in a range of learning and teaching contexts, including feedback and assessment, clinical skills and techniques, professional behaviors, clinical reasoning and fieldwork supervision. Author-reported outcomes varied between studies and were associated with student factors (e.g. anxiety, self-efficacy), technical difficulties when implementing digital technology, as well as financial costs.

CONCLUSION

A wide variety of digital technologies can support learning and teaching across many contexts in occupational therapy and physiotherapy education. Technology should not be used in isolation and must be aligned to the proposed learning outcomes. Studies highlight the need for face-to-face contact with lecturers and fellow students in addition to the use of digital technology.