ECHO Care of the Elderly: Innovative Learning to Build Capacity in Long-term Care

Authors

Navena R. Lingum, Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Lisa Guttman Sokoloff, Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
James Chau, North East Specialized Geriatric Services—a program of Health Sciences North, Sudbury, ON
Sid Feldman, Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged, Baycrest, Toronto, OM; Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Shaen Gingrich, North East Specialized Geriatric Services—a program of Health Sciences North, Sudbury, ON
Cindy J. Grief, Department of Psychiatry, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Raquel M. Meyer, Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Andreaa L. Moser, Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged, Baycrest, Toronto, OM; Department of Family and Community Medicine, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Salma Shaikh, Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Anna Theresa Santiago, Kunin-Lunenfeld Centre for Applied Research and Evaluation, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Rosalind Sham, Kunin-Lunenfeld Centre for Applied Research and Evaluation, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
Devin J. Sodums, Kunin-Lunenfeld Centre for Applied Research and Evaluation, Baycrest, Toronto, ON
David K. Conn, Centre for Education and Knowledge Exchange in Aging, Baycrest, Toronto, ON; Department of Psychiatry, Baycrest, Toronto, ON

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2-2021

Abstract

Background

Older adults are entering long-term care (LTC) homes with more complex care needs than in previous decades, resulting in demands on point-of-care staff to provide additional and specialty services. This study evaluated whether Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Care of the Elderly Long-Term Care (COE-LTC)—a case-based online education program—is an effective capacity-building program among interprofessional health-care teams caring for LTC residents.

Methods

A mixed-method, pre-and-post study comprised of satisfaction, knowledge, and self-efficacy surveys and exploration of experience via semi-structured interviews. Participants were interprofessional health-care providers from LTC homes across Ontario.

Results

From January–March 2019, 69 providers, nurses/nurse practitioners (42.0%), administrators (26.1%), physicians (24.6%), and allied health professionals (7.3%) participated in 10 weekly, 60-minute online sessions. Overall, weekly session and post-ECHO satisfaction were high across all domains. Both knowledge scores and self-efficacy ratings increased post-ECHO, 3.9% (p = .02) and 9.7 points (p < .001), respectively. Interview findings highlighted participants’ appreciation of access to specialists, recognition of educational needs specific to LTC, and reduction of professional isolation.

Conclusion

We demonstrated that ECHO COE-LTC can be a successful capacity-building educational model for interprofessional health-care providers in LTC, and may alleviate pressures on the health system in delivering care for residents.

Recommended Citation

Lingum NR, Sokoloff LG, Chau J, Feldman S, Gingrich S, Grief CJ, Meyer RM, Moser AL, Shaikh S, Santiago AT, Sham R, Sodums DJ, Conn DK. ECHO Care of the Elderly: Innovative Learning to Build Capacity in Long-term Care. Can Geriatr J. 2021 Mar 2;24(1):36-43. doi: 10.5770/cgj.24.458. PMID: 33680262; PMCID: PMC7904330.