HealthMatters@24/7 eLearning for People Supporting Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

The barriers faced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) begin in their mid to late 20s and often mirror the experiences of older adults (50+) living in the U.S. While evidence for successful population-specific health promotion programs and training, such as the 12-Week HealthMatters Program has been documented, an urgent need exists for continuous, readily available, on-demand training in these programs. Online training can substantially aid the widespread translation of evidence-based programs into practice and policy. This proposal seeks to test the effectiveness of an enhanced mode of translating the HealthMatters program into practice through the use of an on-demand e-Learning platform (HealthMatters@24/7) for staff in community based organizations (CBOs) in one state; thereby advancing the science of translational research. HO1. More CBOs in the asynchronous training program will have developed Strategic Action Plans for Health and Wellness, established Wellness Committees, and have equal or more resources and improved culture for health promotion at 1 year compared to CBOs participating in the current live HealthMatters TtT Workshop webinar. HO2. Staff in the asynchronous training group will have improved levels of learner/instructor satisfaction (job productivity, job performance, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, convenience) toward the training immediately after completing the enhanced mode of training, HM@24/7 compared to staff trained using the current live HealthMatters TtT Workshop webinar.

The barriers faced by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) begin in their mid to late 20s and often mirror the experiences of older adults (50+) living in the U.S. While evidence for successful population-specific health promotion programs and training, such as the 12-Week HealthMatters Program has been documented, an urgent need exists for continuous, readily available, on-demand training in these programs. Online training can substantially aid the widespread translation of evidence-based programs into practice and policy. Consistent with the mission of the Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation, our proposed study, HealthMatters@24/7 eLearning, is guided by the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance of the HealthMatters Program for maximal positive impact on the health of people with IDD. The goal of HealthMatters@24/7 eLearning is to develop a low cost, readily accessible comprehensive staff training that will improve staff job performance, satisfaction, and organizational commitment to the provision of health friendly services while creating a productive and competitive workforce. These conditions will enable more community-based organizations to offer the program efficiently, thereby increasing access to HealthMatters among older adults with IDD.