Efficacy of a Train-the-Trainer Curriculum for Increasing Occupational Therapists’ Mental Health Knowledge

Abstract

The marked prevalence and under detection of affective disorders including depression in older adults is associated with poor functional outcomes and patient mortality. Although occupational therapists are trained in mental health assessment and intervention, these skills are underutilized in practice. A two-group wait-list control design was used to test a DVD-based educational curriculum to increase knowledge about depression in a sample of occupational therapists. The educational intervention was delivered using a train-the-trainer model. The train-the-trainer model was found to be effective and study results showed that knowledge increased significantly after the DVD training.

KEYWORDS:

• depression
• geriatric assessment
• continuing education

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the facilitators from our research partner sites including Steve Bennett, Rita Doss, Krista Hagarty, Kathy Hayes, Mamta Peter, Prajakta Pilivkar, Cheryl Rankin, and Amy Wilkins, who were champions of the training. We would also like to thank course participants for their continued commitment to improving care.

Notes

*p < .05.

**p ≤ .01.

***p ≤ .001.