Building Core Competencies of Taiwanese Care Food Specialists: Curriculum Design and Outcome Assessment

NCT07384481 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: linchiahui
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 150
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Background: As Taiwan faces an aging population, the demand for long- term care services continues to rise, increasing the need for skilled care workers. Care Food Specialists, focusing on food preparation and oral health in long-term care, are essential for improving care quality. Objective: This project aims to develop a core competency training curriculum for Care Food Specialists in Taiwan and assess its effectiveness in enhancing care worker skills. Methods: Over two years, participants were recruited from various regions for training, with pre- and post-course assessments and qualitative interviews to evaluate changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Conclusion/Practical Applications: The project successfully designed and implemented a training curriculum, providing evidence of its positive impact on long-term care quality and offering a practical framework for future competency-based training.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Entrusted Professional Activities

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Eating Support for Healthcare Aides (ESHA) Questionnaire

  The scale is designed to assess caregivers' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding feeding and swallowing care. It was developed by Lin and Liu (2025) through literature review, expert Delphi consultation, and empirical testing, and comprises three domains with a total of 47 items. The knowledge domain includes 25 dichotomous items (correct/incorrect), with 1 point awarded for a correct answer and 0 points for an incorrect one; higher scores indicate more comprehensive knowledge. The reliability of this domain was examined using the KR-20 coefficient, yielding a value of 0.61. Item difficulty ranged from 0.60 to 0.99, and items demonstrated good discrimination, making the domain suitable as a baseline for comparing pre- and post-intervention educational outcomes. The attitudes and behaviors domains are assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, measuring caregivers' endorsement of feeding support and the frequency of its actual implementation, respectively.

  Baseline, Immediately after the 20-hour intervention course

Study Arms (3)

Student Immediate Intervention Group (IG):

EXPERIMENTAL

Students participated in the Core Competency Training Course for Eating Support Healthcare Aides, a 20-hour program designed to enhance knowledge and skills in providing safe and effective feeding support.

Other: Core Competency Training Course for Eating Support Healthcare Aides (20-Hour Course)

Student Waitlist Control Group (WG)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Student Waitlist Control Group (WG) Intervention: Participants in the Student Waitlist Control Group (WG) initially do not receive any training during the primary study period, serving as a delayed intervention control to account for time-related and external factors. After completion of all baseline and post-assessment measurements for the immediate intervention group (IG), the waitlist students then receive the same 20-hour Core Competency Training Course as the IG.

Other: Core Competency Training Course for Eating Support Healthcare Aides (20-Hour Course)

Industry Group (RG)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Industry Group (RG) Intervention: Participants in the Industry Group (RG) are current professional healthcare aides who receive the 20-hour Core Competency Training Course concurrently with the Student Immediate Intervention Group (IG). The timing ensures that the training is delivered during the same study period as the student intervention, allowing direct comparison of learning outcomes between students and experienced professionals.

Other: Core Competency Training Course for Eating Support Healthcare Aides (20-Hour Course)

Interventions

Core Competency Training Course for Eating Support Healthcare Aides (20-Hour Course) OTHER

Core Competency Training Course for Eating Support Healthcare Aides, a 20-hour program designed to enhance knowledge and skills in providing safe and effective feeding support. The course comprised the following modules: 1. Oral Changes and Basic Care Concepts (2 hours) 2. Assisting Clients with Safe Eating (2 hours) 3. Oral Hygiene and Care (3 hours, including practical skills) 4. Dysphagia Diet Standards and Meal Texture Modification (2 hours) 5. Food Storage, Cleaning, and Pre-/Mid-Processing (3 hours) 6. Client Nutrition Knowledge (3 hours) 7. Soft Food Selection and Preparation for Clients with Chewing Difficulties (2 hours) 8. Hands-on Soft Food Preparation and Selection for Clients with Chewing Difficulties (3 hours)

Industry Group (RG); Student Immediate Intervention Group (IG):; Student Waitlist Control Group (WG)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 19 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Enrolled in a long-term care-related educational program (either a five-year junior college program or a four-year technical program).
• In the year immediately preceding graduation (fifth-year junior college students or third-year technical program students).
• Aged 19 years or older.
• Had completed the Basic Care Practice and Laboratory course.
• Able to attend the full 20-hour training course.

You may not qualify if:

• Unwilling to participate or unable to complete the full 20-hour course (e.g., due to other academic commitments)
• Industry Healthcare Aide Group
• Currently employed as a professional healthcare aide in community-based or institutional long-term care settings.
• Actively working in a care aide role with at least one year of relevant experience.
• Possess a valid Taiwan Care Worker Training Certificate.
• Aged 20 years or older.
• Able to communicate in both Mandarin and Taiwanese.
• Able to attend the full 20-hour training course.
• Younger than 20 years of age.
• Unable to communicate in Mandarin and Taiwanese.
• Not currently employed as a community or institutional care aide.
• Unable to complete the full 20-hour course

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chang Gung Memorial Hospital: lead
• National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Chang Gung Medical Foundation

Tainan, Taiwan, 721, Taiwan

RECRUITING

Related Publications (4)

• Waldron C, Nunn J, Mac Giolla Phadraig C, Comiskey C, Guerin S, van Harten MT, Donnelly-Swift E, Clarke MJ. Oral hygiene interventions for people with intellectual disabilities. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 May 31;5(5):CD012628. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012628.pub2.

  PMID: 31149734 BACKGROUND

• Newman R, Vilardell N, Clave P, Speyer R. Effect of Bolus Viscosity on the Safety and Efficacy of Swallowing and the Kinematics of the Swallow Response in Patients with Oropharyngeal Dysphagia: White Paper by the European Society for Swallowing Disorders (ESSD). Dysphagia. 2016 Apr;31(2):232-49. doi: 10.1007/s00455-016-9696-8. Epub 2016 Mar 25.

  PMID: 27016216 BACKGROUND

• Chen S, Kent B, Cui Y. Interventions to prevent aspiration in older adults with dysphagia living in nursing homes: a scoping review. BMC Geriatr. 2021 Jul 17;21(1):429. doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02366-9.

  PMID: 34273953 BACKGROUND

• Lin CH, Liu MY. Development and Validation of the Eating Support for Healthcare Aides (ESHA) Questionnaire in Long-Term Care. Nutrients. 2025 Oct 15;17(20):3235. doi: 10.3390/nu17203235.

  PMID: 41156487 BACKGROUND

Central Study Contacts

ChiaHui Lin

CONTACT

+886-912748610; clh9031@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: hree-arm waitlist control trial (WCT) design

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2025
• First Posted: February 3, 2026
• Study Start: August 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2027
• Last Updated: February 3, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TW (1)