Effects of a Systems-Level Intervention to Improve Trainer Integrity in a Behavioral Healthcare Organization
A five-dollar bill plus a reminder and quick praise got peer trainers to actually teach new staff.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Blackman et al. (2022) tested a three-part package on peer trainers in a disability home. The package was a daily prompt, quick feedback, and a small cash bonus.
First, the team ran a short assessment. They saw trainers forgot to train new staff and no one tracked if they did. The package fixed both gaps.
What they found
After the package started, trainers ran almost every planned session. New staff got the lessons they needed.
The cash bonus was only five dollars per session. It still nudged people to show up and teach.
How this fits with other research
Aherne et al. (2019) showed that after basic BST, staff skill can slip within weeks. Blackman’s ongoing prompts and money keep the skill alive longer.
McCulloch et al. (2020) found that supervisor feedback added no extra gain to online training. Blackman’s feedback came with money and a prompt, so the combo may matter more than feedback alone.
Shire et al. (2014) reviewed older train-the-trainer studies and called most of them weak. Blackman’s real-time tracking and tiny bonus answer that call for tighter, cheaper fixes.
Why it matters
You can copy this package on Monday. Post a daily checklist by the time-clock, add a five-dollar gift card for each completed training, and email brief praise at lunch. It costs almost nothing and keeps your peer trainers showing up.
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Tape a daily prompt sheet by the punch clock and hand a five-dollar gift card after each peer-training session.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Direct support professionals (DSPs) play a critical role in health-related outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who reside in congregate living settings. Large behavioral healthcare organizations often rely on staff to function as peer trainers for newly hired DSPs. Organizations should adopt empirically supported training techniques to prepare peer trainers for their role and develop systems to ensure ongoing integrity of the training system. The purpose of this program description is to summarize consultation activities that attempted to create these systems. Staff members were trained to function as peer trainers, an assessment was conducted to determine the barriers to training in the natural environment, and a systems-level intervention informed by the assessment was implemented to improve peer trainer integrity. The assessment revealed peer trainers were often unaware when they were expected to train and did not receive feedback or programmed consequences for training newly hired DSPs. A systems-level intervention containing a prompt (reminder) about upcoming training and feedback plus a monetary incentive produced improvements in trainer integrity. A systems-level intervention based on an assessment can improve peer trainer integrity. Ensuring peer trainer integrity increases the likelihood that newly hired DSPs will implement health-related protocols with individuals with IDD.
Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s41252-022-00245-x