A sexual health continuing education quality assurance project: enhancing oncosexology competence in interdisciplinary cancer care providers.

PURPOSE

Sexual health needs of cancer patients are often left unaddressed by providers. Providers cite their lack of knowledge on the topic as a primary barrier to initiating discussions about sexual health with patients. The current paper was a quality assurance project, evaluating the "Sexual Health and Cancer" course, which is part of the Interdisciplinary Online Distance Education (IPODE) program. The course is structured in two parts and designed to educate oncology providers about the most common sexual concerns of patients, as well as how to assess and counsel patients regarding effective interventions.

METHODS

Course tuition was provided to providers who expressed interest in an invitation to attend the sponsored course. A pre-course survey administered to all participants gathered information on their confidence and knowledge when addressing sexual health concerns with their patients. Participants responded to a combination of Likert scale questions, check boxes, and short-answer questions. A post-course survey, completed by participants after part I and again after part II, re-evaluated their confidence and knowledge.

RESULTS

The pre-course survey, completed by 27 participants, identified a lack of knowledge and resources on sexual health as the most common barriers to providing sexual healthcare to cancer patients. Of the participants who completed part I of the course, 44% proceeded to complete part II. Those who completed part II reported that the course was beneficial, both personally and professionally. Reasons for not completing both parts of the course are explored.

CONCLUSION

Both part I and part II of the course proved beneficial to participants. Continued development and improvement of the course may enhance participant engagement and retention in future offerings of both part I and part II of the course. There remains a pressing need to systematically identify and address sexual health education needs in oncology for improved healthcare system capacity; online educational opportunities may continue to provide resources for oncology providers who are interested in learning how to better support patients with sexual health concerns.