Multiple brief training sessions to improve nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and confidence regarding nursing care of older adults with depression in long-term care facilities

In long-term care facilities (LTCFs), nurses are key healthcare providers for older residents who have depressive symptoms or depression; therefore, they need accurate knowledge of late-life depression, positive attitudes towards depression, and confidence in providing depression care. This cluster-randomized trial was designed to examine the effectiveness of multiple, face-to-face, brief training sessions in improving nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in providing late-life depression care in LTCFs. Nine LTCFs were included in the study. In total, 30 nurses from the four LTCFs assigned to the intervention group received three 30-min training sessions and 36 nurses in the five comparison group LTCFs did not. A self-report questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention. There were significant differences between groups concerning improvement in nurses’ knowledge of late-life depression, attitudes towards depression, and confidence in providing depression care. The effect size (Cohen's d) was 1.55 for knowledge, 1.38 for attitudes, and 0.89 for confidence. This training program was effective in improving LTCF nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in providing depression care. On the basis of these findings, we recommend that nurse managers and directors implement similar training programs for nurses in LTCFs to enhance the care quality for older residents.