Engaging Interprofessional Students to Develop and Evaluate an Educational Booklet for Cancer Caregivers

Spouses, adult children, or friends who provide uncompensated, comprehensive care to people living with a serious illness are often referred to as caregivers. Caregivers for patients with cancer spend considerable time and effort providing intense care and dealing with numerous challenges. The project aimed to engage learners from various health professions to develop and evaluate printed educational material addressing the multidimensional needs of cancer caregivers. Nine students from nursing, social work, and pharmacy attended weekly sessions from September 2023 to July 2024, developing content focused on their specialty in the context of interprofessional education. Twenty-five active cancer caregivers also guided the development of a 20-page booklet through their responses to a structured questionnaire. The booklet, titled "Tips for Caregivers Navigating the Cancer Journey," was evaluated by caregivers, who found that it was easily understandable and useful. Caregivers cited areas for improvement, such as including to-do lists, concrete examples, and relevant visual aids. The students rated their experience highly in terms of content, working collaboratively, and developing greater respect for people in other healthcare professions. In addition to giving cancer caregivers information to fill gaps in caring for their loved ones, the process of involving students provided an opportunity to identify real-life concerns and address these challenges using an interprofessional team-based approach. Armed with a prototype co-designed by students and actual caregivers, plus a wealth of feedback for improving its content and structure, our next steps include carefully revising the booklet and further testing its effectiveness.