E-training of Inmate Peer Caregivers for Enhancing Geriatric and End-of-life Care in Prisons

NCT05017129 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 03275R44AG057239-03
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 53
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The demographics of the U.S. prison population are shifting at a dramatic rate requiring new approaches to prison healthcare. Current estimates suggest that there are 2.3 million incarcerated persons in the U.S. Similar to the free world, the aging of the Baby Boom generation is occurring in prisons. Notably, inmates 50 and older constitute over 20% of prisoners in state or federal facilities. From 1996-2016, there was an 280% growth in the number of state and federal prisoners age 55 or older, which is in sharp contrast to younger inmates that grew by only 3% during this time period. A surge in older adult offenders in the U.S. has not occurred but rather statutes now impose stiffer sentences, resulting in longer periods of incarceration, such as life without parole or 20+ years. At the same time, early release policies remain restrictive. As a result, sentenced offenders are living through middle and older adulthood within the confines of prisons.

Conditions

Aging

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Knowledge Acquisition

  There are no existing measures to evaluate improvements in knowledge among inmates and staff for geriatric and EOL care of inmates. Therefore, the primary outcome measure will be developed for this project. Scale development and psychometric properties will be evaluated (e.g., content-validity, criterion-related validity, construct validity, and internal consistency) using: (1) domain identification and item generation; (2) content expert validation, and (3) pilot test.

  Pre-test (prior to online training- Total Score)

• Inmates Program Findings

  Evaluate improvements in knowledge among inmates

  Post-test (immediately following online training) approximately one hour

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• System Usability Scale (SUS)

  After small-scale usability testing and at post-test for the large-scale testing. Approximately two hours

• Qualitative questions

  After small-scale usability testing and at post-test for the large-scale testing. Approximately two hours

Study Arms (1)

Inmates Care modules

EXPERIMENTAL

This is a within-subjects, pre-post design with a single intervention. The intervention is a 6 module computer-based learning program for training peer caregivers in end-of-life care.

Behavioral: Inmates Care

Interventions

Inmates Care BEHAVIORAL

The single intervention is a computer-based learning program.

Inmates Care modules

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Inmate Peer Caregivers:
• providing geriatric and/or EOL care at participating state prison (Aims 1 and 2 only);
• age \>18;
• able to speak and understand English; and
• able to consent.

You may not qualify if:

• Under the age of 18
• Unable to speak and understand English
• Prison Staff:
• age \>18;
• able to speak and understand English;
• able to consent; and
• have been exposed to inmate peer caregiving (e.g., through training them, oversight of a peer caregiving program, or working with inmate peer caregivers in the infirmary, personal care, or hospice area of prisons)
• Under the age of 18
• Unable to speak and understand English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Klein Buendel, Inc.: lead
• Penn State University: collaborator
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Klein Buendel, Inc.

Golden, Colorado, 80401, United States

Location

Pennsylvania State University

University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Barbara Walkosz, PhD

  Klein Buendel, Inc.

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: INDUSTRY
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Cognitive interviews and small-scale usability will be conducted prior to conducting the full-scale testing. The full-scale learning system (6 learning modules for inmates; 1 learning module for staff) will be tested in 12 state prison settings. We plan to use a pragmatic approach. Targeted participants to test the inmate-focused modules will include both current Inmate Peer Caregivers and inmates who are naïve to the caregiving role in prison. Staff participants to test the staff-focused module include, but are not limited to security, chaplaincy, medical services, psychology/counseling, and administrative leaders. The number of user-participants is dependent on the institution's size, but our target is to recruit 12 sites (three of which will be women's prisons) and an average of 20 inmates per site (n=240 inmates) to test the six modules that are developed for inmates and an average of four prison staff per site (n=48) to test the one module for staff.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 8, 2021
• First Posted: August 23, 2021
• Study Start: June 15, 2020
• Primary Completion: December 19, 2024
• Study Completion: December 31, 2024
• Last Updated: July 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Locations

US (2)