A new training program offers caregivers for older adults the ability to experience first-person perspectives of major caregiving challenges before they have to face the real thing.
The highly emotional, stressful nature of certain interactions in senior care, such as addressing life-threatening emergencies, is one of the reasons why eldercare currently is facing a major staffing crisis.
Although many new training tools, including virtual reality simulators, now are part of nursing or medical college curricula, caregivers in California now also have access to a free online system. The new program was released earlier this week.
The tool, developed via a partnership between Embodied Labs and the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Well-Being, can take users through key scenarios including end-of-life conversations, care transitions, assistance for older adults who are going blind, and Alzheimer’s care.
The online intervention can be done via a virtual reality system or a two-dimensional web-immersive program, the developers said, and it is intended for both professional caregivers in senior living and care communities as well as more informal family members and friends who serve as caregivers for their loved ones.
“Embodied Labs is using the power of VR and immersive storytelling to help caregivers, family members, staff and students see the world through the eyes of the people they care for and care about,” Kari Olson, president of the Front Porch Center, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to expand access to this innovative training platform particularly because of the dynamic way it can bring people together and improve lives.”
The broader category of extended reality, which includes VR and other “mixed” reality experiences, is seen by healthcare and health technology experts as a major opportunity to provide cost-effective training across the care spectrum.
Another recent tool that, like the California program, focuses on some of the most difficult caregiving challenges, is the JollyGood training module designed for palliative care, the McKnight’s Tech Daily recently reported.
