Computer-Based Learning to Enhance Dementia Care in Prison

U.S. prison systems face sharply increased demands in caring for older people living in prisons. Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD) are age-related diseases. Prison populations are over-represented by minority populations who experience disparities in prevalence and incidence of dementia. Prison health, social, and security staff perceive they lack the skills and knowledge essential for identifying dementia and supporting people who are incarcerated and living with ADRDs. This unmet need may be due to a lack of standardized, feasible, and acceptable ADRD education programs that are tailored specifically for those managing and caring for people in the restrictive environment of prisons. Some prisons engage carefully vetted incarcerated people to be peer caregivers, assisting staff with care for people with ADRD. Training programs in prisons are often homegrown and lack consistency, which points to a need for evidence-based, current, and readily accessible training for both prison staff and peer caregivers that is focused on the care of people who are living with ADRD in prison. In response to this need, this Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer project, titled Computer-based Learning to Enhance ADRD Care in Prison: Just Care for Dementia, will demonstrate the scientific merit and feasibility of developing media-rich learning modules to train both multidisciplinary prison staff and peer caregivers on topics related to ADRD care. The specific aims of the project are to (1) transform best practices in ADRD care into media-rich, highly interactive, computer-based educational module prototypes to prepare corrections staff and peer caregivers to meet the growing care needs of people who are incarcerated and living with ADRD; and (2) conduct in-person usability testing of the learning module prototypes with corrections staff and peer caregivers to evaluate the user interface, ease of use, and perceived barriers in order to refine the product and optimize implementation in prison settings. In collaboration with an advisory board comprised of people with expertise in prison healthcare, training and technology, dementia in prisons, and experience with previous incarceration, the investigators will plan and develop discussion guides and then conduct focus groups with two groups of prison stakeholders: interdisciplinary corrections staff and inmates who serve as peer caregivers at a men's and a women's prison. Focus groups will ensure that design and technology plans match what is allowable for training in prison settings and will isolate essential ADRD content for the development of the comprehensive training program. Finally, the investigators will create and evaluate prototypes of media-rich, interactive computer-based learning modules for corrections staff and peer caregivers. At the end of Phase I, the investigators will have: a specifications document for the design of modules that at once fits with the technology available in corrections settings; is permissible to be used by people who are incarcerated; represents the critical learning needs of corrections staff and peer caregivers for providing ADRD care, and further develop collaborative relationships in preparation for commercialization of the product.