Parker Patricia A, Banerjee Smita C, Alici Yesne, Nelson Christian J, Alexander Koshy, Schofield Elizabeth, Fasakin Faith S, Coyle Nessa, Roth Andrew J, Manna Ruth, Gonzalez Javier, Ewert Rebecca, Korc-Grodzicki Beatriz
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY.
JCO Oncol Pract. 2025 Sep 19:OP2500546. doi: 10.1200/OP-25-00546.
Providing medical care to older adults with cancer is complex. In addition to their cancer diagnosis, many older adults have various factors such as frailty, comorbidities, cognitive decline, sensory and functional issues, and polypharmacy that increase the complexity of their medical care. However, few health care practitioners (HCPs) receive adequate training in geriatric principles or in effective communication with older adults with cancer and their caregivers.
To meet this significant and growing need, we developed and conducted an evidence-based educational training program in geriatric oncology, Geriatric Oncology: Cognition and Communication (Geri Onc CC). The goal of this study was to examine its efficacy in terms of participants' ratings of the program, self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes, as well as skill uptake of general and geriatric-specific communication skills. Participants completed questionnaires and standardized patient and caregiver assessments before and after their participation.
Two hundred eighty-two HCPs representing more than eight disciplines, working in varied types of health care settings and locations, participated in the 2-day in-person or virtual training program. Participants rated the program as having high value and reported high satisfaction. After participating in the program, they demonstrated increased knowledge ( < .001), greater self-efficacy ( < .001), and significant increase in communication skills use from pre- to post-training in five skill categories (agenda setting, checking, questioning, information organization, and empathy) as well as geriatric-specific skills (all values < .001).
The Geri Onc CC Training Program improved participants' knowledge and skills. This program fills an important gap in HCPs' education for this population.
为老年癌症患者提供医疗护理是一项复杂的工作。除了癌症诊断外，许多老年人还存在多种因素，如身体虚弱、合并症、认知能力下降、感官和功能问题以及多重用药，这些因素增加了他们医疗护理的复杂性。然而，很少有医疗保健从业者（HCPs）接受过老年医学原则或与老年癌症患者及其护理人员进行有效沟通方面的充分培训。
为满足这一重大且不断增长的需求，我们开发并实施了一项基于证据的老年肿瘤学教育培训项目，即老年肿瘤学：认知与沟通（Geri Onc CC）。本研究的目的是从参与者对该项目的评分、自我效能感、知识和态度，以及一般和老年特定沟通技能的技能掌握情况方面，检验其效果。参与者在参与前后完成了问卷调查以及标准化患者和护理人员评估。
来自八个以上学科、在不同类型的医疗保健机构和地点工作的282名HCPs参加了为期两天的面对面或虚拟培训项目。参与者对该项目评价很高，并表示满意度很高。参与该项目后，他们的知识有所增加（<.001），自我效能感增强（<.001），并且在五个技能类别（议程设定、核对、提问、信息组织和同理心）以及老年特定技能方面，从培训前到培训后沟通技能的使用显著增加（所有值<.001）。
Geri Onc CC培训项目提高了参与者的知识和技能。该项目填补了HCPs针对这一人群教育中的一个重要空白。
