Palliative care professional education via video conference builds confidence to deliver palliative care in rural and remote locations

Abstract

BackgroundPeople living in rural and remote locations are disadvantaged in accessing palliative care. This can be attributed to several factors including the role diversity and the low numbers of patients with specific conditions, as well as the difficulties rural health practitioners have in accessing opportunities for professional education. A program of multidisciplinary palliative care video conferences was presented to health practitioners across part of northern Australia in an effort to address this problem.MethodThe educational content of the video conferences was developed from participant responses to an educational needs assessment. Following cycles of four consecutive video conferences, 101 participants completed evaluative on-line surveys. The quantitative data were analysed using frequencies and analysis of variance tests with post-hoc analyses where appropriate, and an accessibility and remoteness index was used to classify their practice location.ResultsAll participants found the content useful regardless of their remoteness from the tertiary centre, their years of experience caring for palliative care patients or the number of patients cared for each year. However, change in confidence to provide palliative care as a result of attending the video conferences was significant across all disciplines, regardless of location. Doctors, medical students and allied health professionals indicated the greatest change in confidence.ConclusionsThe provision of professional education about palliative care issues via multidisciplinary video conferencing increased confidence among rural health practitioners, by meeting their identified need for topic and context specific education. This technology also enhanced the networking opportunities between practitioners, providing an avenue of ongoing professional support necessary for maintaining the health workforce in rural and remote areas. However, more attention should be directed to the diverse educational needs of allied health professionals.

Palliative Care Education in Nurse Practitioner Programs

“…28 Other novel interventions that may help overcome barriers include video conferencing, team-based learning, the use of simulation, online case-based modules, reading literature, and self-reflection. [29][30][31][32] The lack of experienced faculty also can be addressed. The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) courses have been successfully used to prepare graduate nursing faculty to provide palliative care.…”

Effectiveness of distance learning strategies for continuing professional development (CPD) for rural allied health practitioners: a systematic review

“…On follow up 73.7% indicated they consistently considered vision when planning treatment; 50% reported often screen for vision now and 15/19 participants now consider environment & vision. However, 63.2% did not use any of the screening assessments covered; 78% reported increase in comfort levels for providing interventions for low vision including increased activity visibility, increased contrast & organisation of work stations.Ray et al2014 [36]AustraliaCross-sectional cohortElectronic survey using self-report Likert scalesTotal 101, AHPs 20Evaluate VCs with experts delivered monthly for 16 monthsRural16 Palliative care (PC) topicsContent usefulness, confidence of palliative care delivery & influence on practiceContent usefulness: significant difference in ratings between AHPs and MDs/students ( p  = 0.018) and nurses ( p  = 0.018); AHPs found content less useful than MDs and nurses. Practice location, years of working and number of clients seen were not significant.…”

“…Some had an examination following the intervention [27, 33, 35], or formal assessment of knowledge before and after intervention [28]. Simpler study designs reported on findings from evaluation instruments administered only after delivery of the education [27, 29, 31, 36, 37]. In addition, three studies gathered qualitative data to evaluate learning and the utility of the methods of e-learning [20, 29, 38].…”

“…Satisfaction with access, experience or usefulness of technology and subsequent learning processes varied across studies. Participants reported that they appreciated education that had an interactive component including contact with facilitators and other learners because it mirrored the kind of learning that occurs in the classroom and supported their engagement [29, 34, 36, 37]. The comparison of satisfaction with videoconference groups and face to face groups found no difference [39].…”

Few Hospital Palliative Care Programs Meet National Staffing Recommendations

“…4 The acute care setting offers many opportunities for education in palliative care, 28 and online and video education programs have proved effective in developing palliative care knowledge and skills. [29][30][31] To encourage greater uptake of palliative care education opportunities, state licensing boards could encourage or even require palliative care education as part of continuing education requirements.…”