Q: How much does LIPHA cost?

A: The LIPHA platform is available free of charge for all Ontario users until March 31, 2024. However, we are very confident that we will continue to receive funding through the PSW Education Fund. 

Q: Who can use LIPHA? Are there any specific technology (software or hardware) required? 

A: LIPHA was designed to be used by PSWs and nursing students enrolled in post-secondary education, as well as staff working in long-term care settings who were hired within the last 6 months. 

The LIPHA learning platform requires basic internet connection to be used; however, no additional technology (software or hardware) is required. Access to technical support to assist with roll-out of LIPHA is being offered to all users. 

Q: How easy is it to play the LIPHA game? 

A: For users who are more familiar with gaming (e.g., those who have at least 10,000 hours of gaming), LIPHA will be relatively simple to navigate. For users who are less familiar with gaming, LIPHA's navigational features will help users learn how to play, one step at a time. Educational support is being offered to all LIPHA users, including scaffolding and teaching users how to play, with additional ongoing support. 

Q: Why is the LIPHA program only targeting nurses and PSWs? 

A: After a successful first year, the LIPHA program received extended funding through the Ontario Ministry of Long Term Care Personal Support Worker Education Fund until the end of March 2023. The funding is allocated for students, new hires and redeployed staff. We are excited to work with PSW and nursing students to show the effectiveness of LIPHA as we look to expand with more resources. 

Q: Is LIPHA available in multiple languages?

A: Currently LIPHA is only available in English. The platform has multilingual support built-in to support all languages - including DBCS (double-byte character set) languages (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew) and Right-to-Left and Top-to-Bottom script. Additionally, the program was developed using plain language and offers a text-to-speech option. Our plan is to eventually expand content into other languages.  

Q: What are the learning outcomes?

A: Learners will become experts in observation, safety and risk assessment, personalization of care approach, evidence-based intervention, SBAR communication, and team collaboration. 

Q: Can we onboard a smaller group of students within our college or university or staff members within our LTC home?

A: Absolutely! Schools and LTC homes are welcome to onboard smaller cohorts of students or staff members. For schools, a faculty member needs to be available to facilitate smaller dedicated student groups. 

Q: What kind of resources are available on the LIPHA app?

A: The LIPHA app enables learners to quickly access on-the-job tools and save their favourites for easy reference. Resources include a library of articles, videos, infographics and summaries on LTC best practices. Resources are used in support of simulations and include short quizzes to assess knowledge comprehension and deepen understanding. Through LIPHA, learners can also access education resources and tools developed by the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI), including the OurLTC app, a digital pocket card with easy to access, high quality resources and on-the-job tools (e.g., pain scales, checklists).  

Q: How will learners apply the learning from virtual simulations to real life situations?

A: Recognizing virtual simulations are effective in improving knowledge retention, clinical reasoning, and student satisfaction with learning, LIPHA integrates real-world simulations that help learners focus on best practices, safety, and teamwork. In particular, LIPHA case-scenarios are created with high-fidelity and first-person point of view approaches that enable the learner to not only develop foundational knowledge and understanding of topics, but to apply them by practicing providing care to a realistic, simulated LTC resident. In addition, the immersive learning approaches used in LIPHA mimic decision-making that would occur in real-world situations. Learners also receive instant feedback through LIPHA’s game-based design to help foster attitudes and behaviours that support person-centered and relational care, and teamwork. Through these features, LIPHA enables nursing students and health care providers to apply knowledge and skills learned in the virtual simulations to real life situations. 

Q: What if we see the benefit in LIPHA, but cannot commit to the full version?

A: We have recently launched our Microcredential version of the platform to accommodate time commitment restrictions. Check out the '8-Hour Microcredential' page to learn more!

Creating a serious educational game, like LIPHA, that aligns with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) standards is essential to ensuring that all users, including those with disabilities, can fully engage with the learning experience. The AODA mandates specific accessibility standards to make public and private digital content inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities.

 In the design and development of LIPHA, we have ensured that we are designing for diverse accessibility needs, such as providing screen-reader compatibility (text-to-voice), offering keyboard navigation for users unable to use a mouse, incorporating closed captions and descriptive text for audiovisual content (in progress), and ensuring that all visual elements are perceivable and understandable to users with visual impairments. Once the initial development effort for LIPHA was completed, LIPHA underwent an AODA audit, conducted by an independent, 3rd party AODA specialist. Upon receipt of the comprehensive report from the AODA specialist, all recommended remediations and enhancements were developed, tested, and incorporated into the final production release of LIPHA. As we continue to further evolve and enhance the LIPHA game world, the AODA standards remain a constant source of reference for all development, testing and acceptance activities prior to general release.