Abstract:

The United Kingdom (UK) care sector encompasses a range of services, including elderly care, disability care, mental health care, and general nursing care. Paid carers may work in care homes, hospitals, nursing homes, community care settings or in people's homes. Education for carers is essential, especially when it comes to end-of-life care. End-of-life care is a critical stage in a person's life and requires a high level of skill and sensitivity from carers to ensure the individual's comfort, dignity, and wishes are respected.

The University of Bolton was a key contributor to a new model of education and training delivered within Greater Manchester (GM) through a mobile application allowing for participants to access educational materials in their own time and at their own pace. The findings from this research study suggests the flexibility afforded learning to take place through a digital modality.
The educational application included interactive features like quizzes, games, and multimedia content that made learning more engaging and enjoyable.

From the 102 participants, 52 accessed the digital education and training platform with 16 being from a domiciliary home care agency and 36 from a registered nursing home. The researchers unexpectedly identified that 65% of participants stated that they felt anxious or worried about current or past service users. As a result, it was acknowledged as part of the overall education and training provision, there is a need to include and make available more resources and support for those working within Health and Social Care, specifically within Nursing Homes and Domiciliary Care agencies.

Keywords:

Mobile Learning, End-of-Life Education, Digital Innovation, Digital Learning, Paid Carers.