title: Sustainable practice improvements: impact of the Comprehensive Advanced Palliative Care Education (CAPCE) program.
abstract: This paper describes an education program designed to improve palliative care practice through the development of workplace hospice palliative care resources (PCRs), and its impact on knowledge transfer and longer-term changes to clinical practice. Evaluation methods included pre- and post-program questionnaires, and a survey of learners' (n=301) perceptions of program learning strategies. Interviews (n=21) were conducted with a purposeful sample of PCRs and representatives from their work sites. Ratings of the sessions indicated that they were relevant to learners' clinical practice. At follow up, the majority of learners (83%) continued to serve as PCRs. Many positive effects were identified, including enhanced pain and symptom management, staff education, and development of care policies and guidelines. Management support, particularly the prioritization of palliative care and staff development, were factors facilitating sustained implementation. These findings highlight the importance of multimodal learning strategies and supportive work environments in the development of PCRs to enhance palliative care practice.
authors.affiliation: Diane Harris and Associates, Learning and Performance Consultants, Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Loretta M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hillier
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Keat
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D019985:Benchmarking; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004496:Education, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006117:Grief; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009864:Ontario; D010146:Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration