Addressing the Care of Cancer Survivors: Evaluation of an Online Training for Interprofessional Learners

There is a growing cancer survivor population in the United States in need of diverse, multidisciplinary healthcare providers competent in addressing their complex healthcare needs. The National Cancer Survivorship Resource Center, a collaboration of the American Cancer Society, The George Washington University Cancer Center, and the CDC launched the Cancer Survivorship E-Learning Series for Primary Care Providers (E-Learning Series) in 2013 to address interprofessional provider learning needs on cancer survivorship. Evaluation of the E-Learning Series showed increased self-reported confidence in learning objectives for every module for primary care and oncology learners. The average change in confidence for primary care providers ranged from 0.61 (SD = 0.77) to 1.10 (SD = 0.90) and for oncology providers from 0.63 (SD = 0.62) to 0.90 (SD = 0.74). Primary care providers had statistically significant differences in confidence improvements compared with oncology providers in modules 1, 2, and 9. Over half of primary care providers (52.3%) reported that they needed more information to implement skills and strategies in practice. Overall, the evaluation showed efficacy of the E-Learning Series in improving both primary care and oncology providers' confidence in cancer survivorship care and highlighted the need for additional education and training in this area.