Cancer prevention, screening, and survivorship ECHO: A pilot experience with an educational telehealth program

Abstract

Introduction The American Cancer Society, Inc. (ACS) estimates that 37,940 Indiana residents were diagnosed with cancer in 2020, which remains the leading cause of death in the state. Across the cancer continuum, national goals have been established targeting recommended benchmarks for states in prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship. Indiana consistently falls below most goals for each of these targeted categories. Methods To address these disparities, we implemented Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) as a virtual telehealth educational platform targeted at local healthcare providers. ECHO programs utilize a novel tele‐mentoring approach to the education of clinicians in a hub/spoke design. Sessions occurred twice monthly from September 2019 to September 2020 and consisted of a traditional didactic lecture and a case‐based discussion led by participating providers. Results During the pilot year there were a total of 22 ECHO sessions with 140 different participants. On average, 15.5 spokes attended each session with increasing participation at the end of the year. Post‐session surveys suggested generally favorable perception with 72% of respondents finding the quality “excellent.” Discussion Given the increasing rate of recurrent participation toward the end of the pilot year in conjunction with the favorable survey responses following each session, it was felt that the program was overall successful and warranted continued implementation. Conclusion The Project ECHO platform is a validated telehealth education platform that has the potential to impact cancer care at multiple points along the cancer continuum at the regional level.

Pairing Project ECHO and patient navigation as an innovative approach to improving the health and wellness of cancer survivors in rural settings

“…Our results support the ECHO model as an effective tool for strengthening the capacity of rural HCPs to deliver up‐to‐date, high‐quality cancer care to their patients 19 . Similar to an assessment of the Cancer Screening, Prevention, and Survivorship ECHO, 20 we found that the educational material delivered in ECHO sessions was relevant to HCP from diverse disciplines and that the online learning platform was advantageous during the COVID‐19 pandemic.…”

An evaluation of an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) intervention in cancer prevention and survivorship care

“…The PS participants were recruited from mailing lists of registrants for the Cancer ECHO program (since some registered but did not attend) and participants in IU PCP-targetted ECHO programs on other topics. Additionally, the program attracted learners from many disciplines other than PCPs, and they constituted an important part of the multidisciplinary dialogs in the program [ 22 ]. Considering this fact and our goal of maximizing study participation, we recruited both PCPs and non-PCPs from the PS group although we attempted to recruit as many PCPs as possible since they were the original target audience for the Cancer ECHO program.…”

The continuing evolution of a cancer prevention, screening, and survivorship ECHO: A second year of implementation

“…Utilizing the feedback from the surveys and focus groups from the pilot year, several key changes were made to the ECHO. 14 , 15 First, the second‐year curriculum of 24 planned ECHO sessions, including didactic sessions with relevant cases (see Table S1 ), was designed to be more accessible for learners from different educational backgrounds. A voluntary post‐session survey continued to be offered to gather feedback for real‐time quality improvement to adapt the curriculum.…”

“…The baseline implementation infrastructure for the Cancer Prevention, Screening, and Survivorship ECHO was described in our pilot manuscript and retained for this second year of operation. 14 The hub team was recruited from pilot team members, each of whom serves as a specialist or expert in a wide range of oncology topics and geographically represents our catchment area (Indiana). Members Discussion: In this second year, this ECHO expanded to reach more participants with increased attendance and a more diverse distribution of roles within healthcare, which may be attributed to feedback-driven curriculum design.…”