Digital microlearning as a tool for training and comeptency development for personnel in elderly care to increase safety, effectiveness and quality in professional practice

Elderly care organizations face challenges today due to high personnel turnover and pandemic-related obstacles in conducting training and competence development programs in a time-sensitive and fit-for-purpose manner. Digital microlearning has the potential to solve some of these challenges. This is a tool that can more quickly be adapted in time and place, more tailored to individual employee’s needs and fill the most relevant competency gaps, compared to standard training tools.

Our ongoing implementation research regarding digital microlearning has shown promising early results but need to continue to the next stage to identify new needs and demonstrate effectiveness and organizational benefits.
Our research questions are:

1) What needs do elderly care organizations (both managers and employees) have regarding necessary and desirable competence development in terms of time, design and channel?
2) How can digital microlearning fill these needs in a more efficient and effective manner than current methods/tools?
3) How can the quality and safety in the employee’s own work performance be improved regarding Covid-19-related knowledge and skills using digital microlearning tools, compared to other standard methods that have been used during the pandemic?

A mixed-methods design will be used to conduct qualitative and quantitative research among managers and employees in elderly care organizations in several municipalities. User experiences, actual retained knowledge, and estimation of confidence and safety in work performance as outcomes of digital microlearning will be compared to standard competence development efforts within the organization.

We will work closely with technical developers and selected elderly organizations (managers and employees). Results regarding efficiency and effectiveness of digital microlearning will be shared to facilitate eventual implementation and improvement in their organizations.