Needs Assessment for an Intermediate Elderly Care Training Curriculum of the Thai Red Cross Society: Perspectives from Experts, Nurses, Family Caregivers, and Older Adults

Abstract

This survey research aimed to investigate the training curriculum needs for the Intermediate Elderly Care Program of the Thai Red Cross Society. A mixed-methods research design was employed. The participants consisted of four stakeholder groups: (1) three experts in training curriculum development and elderly care, selected through purposive sampling, from whom data were collected using structured interviews and analyzed through content analysis; (2) 32 registered nurses; (3) 30 family members/caregivers of older adults; and (4) 30 older adults, all selected through Simple Random Sampling with data collected via questionnaires. All research instruments were validated for content validity by three experts, yielding a mean Item–Objective Congruence (IOC) index of 0.99. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The findings revealed that the experts unanimously agreed that the curriculum should clearly define intermediate-level caregiver competencies based on a Competency-Based approach, specifying the scope of abilities, roles, and practice limitations in accordance with legal regulations. Practical skills training should comprise 40 hours, accounting for 57% of the total training duration, in order to build learners' confidence and enable the correct application of knowledge and skills in real-world situations. The curriculum content should cover 12 subject modules. Both experts and nurses recommended adding content on disaster preparedness for caregivers of older adults, in alignment with the Thai Red Cross Society's disaster relief mission and institutional identity. Regarding training modality, experts and nurses agreed that the Intermediate Elderly Care Curriculum could be delivered through a Hybrid Learning approach to increase access to the program, reduce constraints on training time, and incorporate a continuous post-training support system covering knowledge review, question-and-answer sessions, and post-training consultation. The study further found that both registered nurses and family caregivers expressed the highest level of need for caregiver knowledge overall (x̄ = 4.57 and 4.52, respectively), with health promotion for older adults identified as the subject module with the greatest demand (x̄ = 4.65). Older adults, by contrast, placed greater importance on psychological and interpersonal competencies than on physical caregiving skills (x̄ = 4.22). The findings of this study serve as foundational evidence for the further development of the Intermediate Elderly Care Training Curriculum of the Thai Red Cross Society.