Abstract
The delivery of psychosocial support to patients and families is challenging in the acute cancer setting. To meet their needs, we developed Acute Cancer Cognitive Therapy (ACCT), an approach that applies traditional cognitive therapy (CT) techniques to this setting. We assessed the feasibility and impact of a six-hour web-based ACCT training for professionals working in psychosocial oncology. Learners were recruited in person at psycho-oncology lectures, workshops, and conferences and through social media channels. One hundred and thirty professionals completed the application, and 46 learners completed all training requirements. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample of applicants and learners, and a paired-samples t-test compared learners’ scores on pre-and-post assessments of ACCT knowledge. Learners were predominantly female (n = 40, 86.9%), white (n = 42, 91.3%), and trained in the disciplines of social work (n = 17, 36.9%) or psychology (n = 17, 36.9%). Post-training scores were significantly higher than baseline, averaging a 19.78-point increase. These results support the feasibility and positive impact of using this web-based training to teach ACCT. Future studies will evaluate alternative approaches to retention, multi-cultural applicability, broader dissemination and the extent and durability of skill acquisition using multimodal longitudinal models of assessment.
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Funding
This research was supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (T32CA009461, PI: Jaime Ostroff, PhD; P30CA008748, PI: Craig Thompson, MD) and the Ameringen Foundation to PIs: Levin & Applebaum.
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Applebaum, A., Walsh, L.E., Polacek, L.C. et al. Acute Cancer Cognitive Therapy Online Training Program: Feasibility and Impact on Clinician Knowledge Uptake. J Canc Educ 36, 1081–1085 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01738-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01738-w