Implementing toileting trials in nursing homes: evaluation of a dissemination strategy.

Objectives: This study sought to improve incontinence care in nursing homes (NHs) by administering and evaluating a webinar course that provided extended instruction to help NHs implement toileting trials in accordance with recommended procedures. Of particular interest was: 1) whether the course design would prompt NH staffs to implement the recommended protocol, and 2) whether participants preferred this course design to other models.

Design: The study collected descriptive evaluation data.

Setting: The setting was comprised of seven NHs.

Participants: Participants were staff members, typically nurses, from enrolled NHs who attended at least three of the six webinars that comprised the course.

Measures: Data was collected using a course evaluation and implementation survey.

Results: Staff in the participating nursing homes attended an average of 4.85 webinars, with an average of nine staff members attending each webinar (range: 3-20). Twelve of 16 responding participants said they preferred the webinar course to other course designs. All respondents said they would recommend the course and take a similar course again. All facilities submitted some evidence that staff providers had completed implementation assignments. Most facilities reported plans to sustain use of the recommended protocol.

Conclusion: This study found limited evidence that the webinar course prompts NHs to implement a recommended toileting trial protocol and is preferred to other training program designs.