title: Reaching further with online education? The development of an effective online program in palliative oncology.
abstract: Patients in rural and remote Australia have less access to specialist oncology services and rely more on local health professionals for provision of cancer care. We have developed a 7.5-h online educational program on palliative oncology for health professionals focused on the needs of rural providers. There were 501 active (enrolled) users and 268 ad hoc (non-enrolled) users, with 90 completing evaluation. Eighty-two (91%) indicated that their learning needs were partially or entirely met. Sixty-five (75%) respondents planned to review or change their practice as a result. The online program is effective in meeting learning needs of Australian health providers, reaching high numbers with high acceptability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia. bogda.koczwara@flinders.edu.au
authors.forename: Bogda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koczwara
authors.forename: Kay
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: Franca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marine
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Underhill
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Olver
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D002983:Clinical Competence; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010166:Palliative Care; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards; D015397:Program Evaluation; D019114:Remote Consultation; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012984:Software; D000078329:Workforce