SBIR-STTR Award

The overall goal of this project is to produce a readily marketable and reasonably profitable, ten-module, Internet-based, continuing education program for training psychologists and other mental health providers about evidence-based, end-of-life care. During Phase I of the project, eNURSING llc, in collaboration with the American Psychological Association (APA), will: (i) recruit an Advisory Board to guide creation and evaluation of a functional prototype for the Internet-based program; (2) develop one module entitled, Diagnosis and Treatment of Psychological Distress Near the End-of-Life; and (3) utilize focus groups to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using the prototype module to train psychologists and other mental health providers. An iterative evaluation process will feedback into the programming of this innovative learning program. We expect the participants will complete the prototype in one hour, that 80% of the participants will pass the examination and judge the prototype module as acceptable and appropriate for training the anticipated target audience. In Phase II we will revise and refine the prototype module using focus group data. Additionally, in Phase II we will develop nine other training modules and then compare the entire ten-module, internet-based program with a comparable package of self-paced reading materials on end-of-life issues. Findings from Phase II will guide development of the final version of the internet-based program. In Phase III, eNURSING llc will collaborate with the American Psychological Association to market the program to mental health care providers, agencies and organizations.

Thesaurus Terms:
continuing education, education evaluation /planning, educational resource design /development, mental health personnel, psychiatric patient care, psychological stressor Internet, computer program /software, death, diagnosis design /evaluation, diagnosis quality /standard, focus group, psychotherapy, training clinical research, human subject

The overall goal of this project is to produce a readily marketable and reasonably profitable, 10-module, Internet-based, continuing education program for training psychologists and other mental health providers about evidence-based, end-of-life care. Phase 1 research demonstrated feasibility of a prototype module. During Phase II of the project, eNURSING lie, in collaboration with APA, will: (1) revise the prototype module in accordance with formative data obtained from Phase I focus groups and develop nine additional Internet-based, training modules on major topics associated with end-of-life care; (2) develop 10 modules of self-study reading materials that provide the same information as that contained in the 10 Internet-based modules; and (3) compare the 10-module, Internet- based educational program with the 10-module, self-study program in 200 Psychologists and other mental health workers examining both effectiveness and appeal. We expect the pretest, to posttest change in knowledge, death competency among subjects in the Internet-based learning condition will be equal to, or greater than, the change found among subjects in the self- study condition. Additionally, we anticipate that subjects in the Internet-based learning condition will rate their learning experience as more interesting and enjoyable than subjects in the independent study learning condition. No differences between the two learning conditions are anticipated with respect to comfort working with patients and families near the end of life, intention to work with patients and families near the end of life, convenience, efficiency, or ease of use. In Phase III, eNURSING lie will collaborate with the American Psychological Association to market and deliver the program to mental health care providers, agencies and organizations, anticipating revenues of $3.3 million annually for three to five years before upgrades are needed.

Thesaurus Terms:
Internet, Continuing Education, Education Evaluation /Planning, Educational Resource Design /Development, Health Care Personnel Education, Mental Health Personnel, Psychiatric Patient Care, Psychological Stressor, Terminal Patient Care Computer Program /Software, Death, Patient Care Personnel Relations, Psychological Aspect Of Aging, Psychotherapy, Training Behavioral /Social Science Research Tag, Clinical Research, Human Subject