Establishment of consensus on content and learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer: a Delphi survey.

BACKGROUND: Complex treatment, care and rehabilitation require continuous healthcare professional development and maintenance of competencies in collaboration with other professionals. Interprofessional education in childhood cancer involves several groups of healthcare professionals with both general and specific knowledge and skills. OBJECTIVE: To establish consensus on content and interprofessional learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer. DESIGN: A three-round Delphi survey in Scandinavian childhood cancer departments. PARTICIPANTS: Healthcare professionals appointed by their head of departments and head nurses based on their profession and their involvement in continuing professional development. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A prioritised list of interprofessional learning objectives with a mean score of ≥3 on a five-point scale (1=not relevant, 5=extremely relevant). RESULTS: 12 childhood cancer departments participated with 30 healthcare professionals: 11 nurses, 10 medical doctors, 5 social workers, 2 physiotherapists and 2 pedagogues. In total, 28 (93%), 25 (83%) and 22 (73%) completed the first, second and third round, respectively. In the first round, we asked open-ended questions and used directed content analysis to analyse 386 statements. We formulated 170 interprofessional learning objectives in six categories: (1) acute life-threatening situations, (2) gastrointestinal toxicities and side effects, (3) pain, (4) palliation, (5) play and activity, and (6) prescription and administration of medicine. The second round resulted in 168 interprofessional learning objectives receiving a mean score of ≥3 on a five-point scale. Final agreement in the third round resulted in a prioritised list of 168 learning objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Consensus on content and interprofessional learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer was established across five groups of healthcare professionals in three countries. Some learning objectives are generic and can be applied in settings other than childhood cancer, where healthcare professionals collaborate to provide patients and families optimal treatment and care.

Back to school with telepresence robot technology: A qualitative pilot study about how telepresence robots help school-aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during treatment.

Aim: To explore how an AV1 telepresence robot helps school-aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during cancer treatment. Design: Qualitative pilot study. Methods: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with school-aged children and adolescents (N = 3, 12-14 years) diagnosed with cancer, their parents (N = 3), teachers (N = 2), classmates (12-14 years, N = 15, focus group interviews) and healthcare professionals (N = 4). Participant observation was performed in the child or adolescents' homes and in the classrooms during education participation via an AV1 telepresence robot. Results: Five themes emerged: expectations, sociality, learning, spatiality and technology. Participants experienced the robots as facilitating social interaction processes with classmates and inclusion in learning activities, reducing their sense of loneliness and lacking behind educationally. Nevertheless, multiple factors determine whether the robot is perceived as exclusive, including the technical functionality of the robot, spatiality in the classroom and mutual expectations of the parties involved.