Collaborative healthcare education programmes for continuing professional education in low and middle-income countries: A Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) systematic review. BEME Guide No. 65.

BACKGROUND: Large discrepancies exist between standards of healthcare provision in high-income (HICs) and low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The root cause is often financial, resulting in poor infrastructure and under-resourced education and healthcare systems. Continuing professional education (CPE) programmes improve staff knowledge, skills, retention, and practice, but remain costly and rare in low-resource settings. One potential solution involves healthcare education collaborations between institutions in HICs and LMICs to provide culturally appropriate CPE in LMICs. To be effective, educational partnerships must address the challenges arising from differences in cultural norms, language, available technology and organisational structures within collaborating countries. METHODS: Seven databases and other sources were systematically searched on 7 July 2020 for relevant studies. Citations, abstracts, and studies were screened and consensus was reached on which to include within the review. 54 studies were assessed regarding the type of educational programme involved, the nature of HIC/LMIC collaboration and quality of the study design. RESULTS: Studies varied greatly regarding the types and numbers of healthcare professionals involved, pedagogical and delivery methods, and the ways in which collaboration was undertaken. Barriers and enablers of collaboration were identified and discussed. The key findings were: 1. The methodological quality of reporting in the studies was generally poor. 2. The way in which HIC/LMIC healthcare education collaboration is undertaken varies according to many factors, including what is to be delivered, the learner group, the context, and the resources available. 3. Western bias was a major barrier. 4. The key to developing successful collaborations was the quality, nature, and duration of the relationships between those involved. CONCLUSION: This review provides insights into factors that underpin successful HIC/LMIC healthcare CPE collaborations and outlines inequities and quality issues in reporting.

Evaluating psychometric properties of the Short Form Brief Pain Inventory Sinhala Version (SF BPI-Sin) among Sinhala speaking patients with cancer pain in Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND: Pain is one of the most common and unpleasant symptoms of patients with cancer. The Short Form Brief Pain Inventory (SF-BPI), has been psychometrically validated in several languages and widely used globally. Availability of a validated pain tool in Sinhala is a current requirement enabling the use among the majority of Sinhala-speaking cancer patients in Sri Lanka. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of Sinhala translated version of SF BPI. METHODS: The translation was done by forward-backward translation method. Content and face validity were evaluated by a panel of experts and patients with cancer pain respectively. The study included 151 participants with cancer pain, registered at the Pain Clinic, Apeksha Hospital, Sri Lanka. The reliability, discriminant and convergent validity were assessed. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted and evaluated the two factor (severity, interference) and three factor models (severity, affective/ activity interference). In the three factor model-1, item 'sleep' was included within the affective interference along with mood, relationship with others and enjoyment of life. In the three factor model-2, item 'sleep' was included within the activity interference along with general activities, walking and normal works. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. RESULTS: A total of 151 participants (79 males, 72 females) with a mean age of 54.6 (+/- 13.2) years were included. The composite reliability (0.902, 0.879), average variance extracted (AVE) (0.647, 0.568) and Cronbach's alpha (0.819, 0.869) calculated for each severity and interference subscales were acceptable. The discriminant validity assessed with the heterotrait-monotrait criterion was 0.18. According to the Fornell-Larcker criterion, the square root of AVE of severity and interference factors (0.804, 0.753) greater than the correlation between the factors (0.140) demonstrated the discriminant validity. The CFA supported the three-factor model-2 (CFI-0.959, SRMR-0.0513, RMSEA-0.0699) and the values for two-factor and three-factor model-1 were marginally acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: The Sinhala version of SF BPI is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of cancer pain among Sinhala speaking patients in Sri Lanka.

Psychometric Properties of Sinhala Version of Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 (SF MPQ-2-Sin) among Patients with Cancer Pain in Sri Lanka.

Introduction: Pain is one of the most common and unpleasant symptoms that distress the well-being of patients with cancer. Considerable evidence supports the validity and reliability of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and its short forms, the SF MPQ and SF MPQ-2-which are the most widely used tools for pain assessment-in terms of patients with cancer. Pain and its characteristics are best assessed using validated and culturally adapted tools developed in participants' mother tongue. Although many pain assessment tools are available worldwide, only a limited number of them have been translated into Sinhala language and validated in Sri Lanka. We aimed to translate SF MPQ-2 into Sinhala language and validate using Sinhala-speaking patients suffering from cancer pains in Sri Lanka. Materials and Methods: Translation has been conducted according to the guidelines laid down by Mapi Research Trust, in five stages, namely, forward translation, backward translation, expert opinion, cognitive debriefing interviews, and proofreading. The questionnaire was administered among 207 patients attending Apeksha Hospital, Sri Lanka, who are suffering from cancer pain. Content validity was tested using expert opinion, and face validity, by interviewing patients with cancer pain. Factor structure was tested through a factor analysis, and reliability, by internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha. Results: A total of 207 participants (112 males and 95 females), aged between 20 and 80 years, were included in the study. Factor analysis identified four factors compatible with studies done in other countries, which explained 53.5% of the variance. The analysis of data indicated Cronbach's alpha of neuropathic, affective, intermittent, and continuous subscales as 0.768, 0.791, 0.824, and 0.789, respectively, which were over the acceptable threshold of 0.70. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor model. Conclusion: SF MPQ-2-Sinhala version is a statistically proven reliable and valid pain descriptor which can be utilized to evaluate pain suffered by patients with cancer in Sri Lanka whose mother tongue is Sinhala.