The aim of the project is to team Senior Housing Research Group and Northern Virginia Community College to produce a multi-media training package incorporating recent research and techniques to assist cancer patients to improve their functioning, better communicate symptomology to improve symptom management and enhance their quality of life. This program will be used by community colleges and by hospice programs to train paraprofessionals, volunteers and family caregivers and will include additional requirements for paraprofessional certification. Phase I will research and develop a detailed training program outline, including descriptions of multi-media training elements to be developed in Phase II. Expert Panel approval of the training program outline and criteria for evaluating the training program will prove the feasibility of Phase II. In Phase II, multi-media materials to implement the training program and a train-the-trainer module will be produced. The training package will be tested in classes at a community college and hospices. Trainee knowledge and skills performance will be evaluated. The products to be marketed in Phase III will be a multi-media training package consisting of: a palliative care and hospice training curriculum and a train-the-trainer module for instructors.
The project will research and develop a palliative care training package consisting of: 1) a training curriculum; 2) paraprofessional certification in palliative care, 3) train-the-trainer module for instructors which can be used by community colleges, hospice and home care organizations and the cancer pain initiatives to train paraprofessionals, volunteers and family caregivers in palliative care and hospice.
