A Selected Review of the Literature Examining a Possible Paradigm Shift in Long-term Care: How the Training of CNAs is Evolving Due to Culture Change and Technology

A literature review was conducted about the training of Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) in long-term care in relation to culture change and technology. Database searches of Ageline, PubMed, PsychINFO and CINAHL was used to identify peer-reviewed literature. The literature revealed several themes related to the topic of culture change and technology. The themes that emerged under the topic of culture change include person-centered training and empowerment, turnover, students, work attitude and working with people who have dementia, and specialized training. The themes that emerged under the topic of technology include health information technology, documentation/medical records, videoconferencing, education related to technology, online learning, and ethics. The literature review was taken on to recognize how technology can be a facilitator or a barrier to culture change in long-term care. The literature review revealed that the quality of resident care in long-term settings is improved with the training of CNAs with a person-centered approach to care. Technology can also improve the quality of care a resident receives in long-term care settings.