title: Distance learning for updating health professionals in palliative care: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review literature regarding online educational initiatives in palliative care which are targeted to update health professionals and prepare distance courses suitable for a Brazilian context.
  
  
  METHODS
  7 databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, LILACS, SCIELO, CINAHL, Science Direct and Scopus) were reviewed for published papers between January 2004 and August 2014 using the PRISMA methodology. Included studies focused on health professionals and had at least part of the course in a distance learning approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The UK, the USA, Canada and Australia stood out within the palliative care research papers. Among the 590 articles chosen, only 14 papers were included in this review due to the inclusion criteria. 9 used a mixed approach and 5 used online methods. The length of the courses, however, varied extensively and several methods were found to have been employed for teaching purposes, including videos, audio, images, poetry and simulation cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the literature is abundant in this area, there is limited research exploring the construction process of courses and how they can be applied to countries with limited resources. It is important to highlight, however, that the mixed teaching strategy, which allows for theoretical and practical activities at a low cost, is imperative for countries with limited resources in healthcare. Thus, this review can support new initiatives around the world, particularly in the low-income and middle-income countries.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department, Rio de Janeiro Federal State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anderson Luiz Carvalho
authors.initials: ALC
authors.lastname: Taroco
authors.affiliation: Public Health Department, Rio de Janeiro Federal State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tania Cristina de Oliveira
authors.initials: TCO
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.affiliation: Psychology Postgraduate Department, Juiz de Fora Federal University, Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila Soares
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Carbogim
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D020375:Education, Distance / Q000379:methods; D004517:Education, Professional; D006801:Humans; D010166:Palliative Care; D057211:Webcasts as Topic
keywords: distance education; distance learning; e-learning; health professional; palliative care