The primary goal of the IRRL Program is to train staff to recognize elder aggression by other residents in their own long-term care facilities and to learn how to manage it, including implementing safety and reporting guidelines. This training seeks to shed light on the prevalence and seriousness of resident-initiated conflict in order improve the quality of life for long-term care residents.

The training is intended for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), Resident Assistants (RAs), and other long-term care staff (e.g., social workers, physical or occupational therapists, etc.). The training is organized into two distinct sessions that focus on recognition, management, and reporting. Session 1 teaches staff about the prevalence, types, risk factors, and consequences of resident-to-resident aggression (RRA). Session 2 focuses on intervention strategies, including how to manage and record incidents.

The IRRL Program can help enhance staff knowledge related to types and treatment of RRA, and it can increase staff recognition and reporting. The training emphasizes the prevalence and consequences of RRA incidents and provides long-term care staff with safe intervention methods to help manage it. The IRRL Program benefits residents in long-term care facilities by helping to decrease RRA and ultimately improving their quality of life.

The IRRL Program includes various training materials for those interested in conducting it in their long-term care facility. Those implementing the program should have experience conducting educational programs in their own facilities. Support from long-term care facility administrators is critical to the program’s success. For more information about the program, please contact CITRA by email at citrainfo@cornell.edu.