Research demonstrates that health-care staff can hold negative attitudes toward people diagnosed with “Personality Disorders” (PdxPD), which can negatively impact health-care outcomes. Evidence for staff training is inconsistent with limited demonstration of sustained impact. This study aims to evaluate whether a new, brief training session can deliver similar results to longer training packages and sustain positive change 6- and 12-months after training (Black et al., 2011).
A total of 428 health-care staff attended the 3-hour training session during the study period. Questionnaires assessing knowledge, confidence and attitudes were administered pre- and post-training and at 6- and 12-month follow-up.
Brief training significantly improved knowledge of PdxPD (p < 0.001), attitudes towards PdxPD (p < 0.001) and staff confidence (p < 0.001) working with PdxPD after training. Feedback showed high ratings of training usefulness and quality of training delivery. Improvements in knowledge, attitudes and confidence were maintained over 12 months. However, gains in knowledge were not maintained at six months.
The study demonstrates positive outcomes from short training which can lead to significant resource and clinical time savings.
Findings suggest that the brief training session can achieve similar outcomes to more intensive training evaluated elsewhere. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider maintenance of outcomes at 12 months for foundational PdxPD training. The staff sample was broad and not limited to staff working in specific settings or professions.
