Development of a curriculum for interdisciplinary e-learning on delirium in nursing homes—a modified Delphi study

Abstract

Background

Health care professionals (HCPs) in nursing homes, such as nurses and general practitioners (GPs), indicate a need for delirium-specific education. However, establishing educational interventions in the nursing home setting is challenging. e-learning is one method of compensating for these difficulties. Therefore, this study aims to develop a curriculum for interdisciplinary e-learning to improve delirium-specific knowledge in HCPs in nursing homes.

Methods

Delirium-specific competencies were formulated on the basis of exploratory setting-independent literature. The competencies were assessed for relevance (very relevant, relevant, less relevant and not relevant) by an expert panel through a two-stage Delphi study that included an integrated workshop. A consensus was assumed if 80% of the experts rated a competence as very relevant or relevant in the first round. Competencies with approval ratings between 75% and 80% after the first round and/or that were critically commented upon were discussed in the subsequent workshop and assessed again in the second round. The competencies that received approval ratings below 75% in the first Delphi round were removed. In the second Delphi round, competencies that did not achieve at least 80% approval were ultimately excluded.

Results

A total of 120 competencies were formulated, including 108 that addressed both disciplines, 4 addressed nurses, and 8 addressed GPs. Nineteen experts participated in the first Delphi round, after which n=92 (76.7%) of the competences were approved and n=18 (15%) were deleted. A total of 10 (8.3%) of the competencies were critically discussed by 10 experts in the subsequent workshop, of which 6 were deleted. Four competencies (3 addressed nurses and 1 GP) were evaluated by 11 experts in the second Delphi, 3 of which were confirmed (the competence addressing GPs was deleted). Overall, n=97 (81.2%) competencies were included in the final curriculum. Of these, n=64 (66%) addressed both disciplines, n=16 (16.5%) addressed nurses, and n=17 (17.5%) addressed GPs.

Conclusions

Delirium is an interdisciplinary challenge. Hence, the majority of our newly developed competencies address both disciplines. However, discipline-specific competencies must be addressed in the development of e-learning. A competence-based curriculum is a necessary basis for providing interdisciplinary e-learning for HCPs in nursing homes.