Waiting times can raise significant concern for cancer patients. This study examined cancer patients' concern levels at each phase of waiting. Demographic, disease and psychosocial characteristics associated with concern at each phase were also assessed. 146 consenting outpatients (n= 146) were recruited from two hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Each completed a touch-screen computer survey, asking them to recall concern experienced regarding waiting times at each treatment phase. Approximately half (52%) reported experiencing concern during at least one treatment phase, while 8.9% reported experiencing concern at every phase. Higher proportions of patients reported concern about waiting times from: deciding to have radiotherapy to commencement of radiotherapy (31%); the first specialist appointment to receiving a cancer diagnosis (28%); and deciding to have chemotherapy to commencement of chemotherapy (28%). Patient groups more likely to report concern were those of lower socio-economic status, born outside Australia, or of younger age. Although a small proportion of patients reported very high levels of concern regarding waiting times, the experience of some concern was prevalent. Opportunities for reducing this concern are discussed. Vulnerable groups, such as younger and socio-economically disadvantaged patients, should be the focus of efforts to reduce waiting times and patient concern levels.
This paper builds on a previous case study in which a group of lecturers from various disciplines were interviewed about their practice as facilitators of online learning. The lecturers' comments about their teaching practices revealed their awareness of specific types of teacher knowledge about online teaching. This was an unintended outcome of the previous study. Subsequently, as reported in this paper, the data were interrogated further using a new lens to investigate the extent to which these elements of teacher knowledge were evident throughout their practices. The technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) theoretical framework enabled the researchers to identify the lecturers' views about the content taught in online and blended environments, the pedagogy which guided teaching and course design, and the technology selected to facilitate students' learning. This paper also considers practical issues about using the TPACK framework as a research tool as a lens through which to view online teachers' knowledge about pedagogy, technology and content.
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