EKiP - Evaluation Kinästhetik in der Pflege
Evaluation Kinaesthetics in nursing home staff
At a Glance
EKiP (Evaluation Kinästhetik in der Pflege / Evaluation Kinaesthetics in nursing home staff) is a mixed-methods research project which will evaluate a kinaesthetics intervention in nursing home staff. The aim of this project is to assess the effect of a kinaesthetics intervention on nursing home staffs’ mental and physical health as well as to evaluate the implementation process. Our results will help to provide data on whether a kinaesthetics intervention can be used universally in nursing home staff health promotion.
Background
Nursing home staff not only have an increased risk for musculoskeletal disorders they are also responsible for their residents’ health and perceived quality of life. Mobility is an important contributor to independence, health and quality of life, which is why it is important to maintain and enhance it. Kinaesthetics is an approach which can help to make everyday life movements easier, less likely to cause injuries and more efficient for nursing home staff and residents alike. The concept can be applied to resident handling by effectively using gravity and the mass of our body as well as those of objects or persons. For example, persons can be moved using spiral, instead of parallel movements, to reduce effort. In kinaesthetics training, participants learn to understand human movement in general as well as residents’ possibilities to participate in everyday life activities. The training is designed to enable nursing home staff to understand mobility capacities, use mobility enhancing strategies and methods to encourage residents, to increase their independence.
The theoretical framework of kinaesthetics is based on the principles of behavioural cybernetics and the concept was developed in the 1980s by Linda Sue Maietta and Frank White Hatch. Training in kinaesthetics has been offered to nursing home staff for approximately twenty years, however, the scientific evidence about the effects of kinaesthetics in nursing remains unclear.
Aims of the Project
EKiP aims to evaluate the effects of kinaesthetics in nursing home staff and to identify the factors that contribute to those effects by evaluating the implementation process. We will investigate the long-term effects on nurses’ health, subjective well-being, stress and self-efficacy, as well as the effect of a training in kinaesthetic on the everyday interactions with residents. Our results can provide insights on whether or not kinaesthetics can be used in health promotion and how the training intervention needs to be implemented in order to achieve intervention effectivity.
Methods and Implementation
EKiP uses a mixed-methods approach. To assess the effectiveness of a kinaesthetic programme, a one-year longitudinal design with two treatment and one control arm will be used. Controls will not receive any training in kinaesthetics during the one-year intervention. All participants complete a survey questionnaire at baseline, after six and after twelve months to assess perceived health and psychological constructs.
There are two intervention groups: one group will complete the basics training course and the second intervention group will additionally complete the advanced training course. To assess the programmes effects during everyday life, both intervention groups will complete a five-day ambulatory assessment after the basics and the advanced course. They will receive study smartphones and complete a short survey after each interaction with a resident. We will assess momentary well-being, perceived stress, participants’ use of kinaesthetics as well as its effect during their interaction with residents.
To evaluate the implementation of the kinaesthetic programme, multiple interviews and focus groups will be conducted with participants, and at management level. Those interviews will take place at various implementation stages throughout the three-year project. During the interviews we will assess, how the programme is received, how its practical relevance is perceived and what role routines and organisational structures play as barriers or facilitators.
Partners
The EKiP project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Sport Science (University of Konstanz) and the AOK Baden-Württemberg.
The kinaesthetics intervention is implemented at the Caritas Altenhilfe für die Region Konstanz.
Funding (-Period)
The project is funded by the AOK Baden-Württemberg with a funding period of 4 years (2020-2024).
Project Team