1. Developing an educational 'hub': impact of a distance-learning curriculum in a multinational cohort
- Author
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Meridith L. Balbach, Grantly Neely, Afua Yorke, Evangelina Figueroa-Medina, Jonathan Paly, Rebecca M. Shulman, Claire Dempsey, Adam Shulman, Cesar Della Biancia, William B. Cutrer, and Benjamin C. Li
- Subjects
Continuing medical education ,Radiation oncology ,Global health ,cancer ,Disparities ,Special aspects of education ,LC8-6691 ,Medicine - Abstract
Abstract Purpose To address a gap in radiation oncology education in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), we sought to evaluate the effectiveness and generalizability of a refined curriculum on intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) offered to existing radiation therapy (RT) clinics across Africa and Latin America (LATAM) at no cost. Methods A curriculum was created based on prior needs assessments and adapted for participating medical physicists, radiation oncologists, radiation therapists, and trainees in LMICs. English-speaking and Spanish-speaking teams of volunteer educators delivered 27 hour-long sessions 1–2 times weekly for 4 months using video conferencing to African and LATAM cohorts, respectively. Pre- and post-course multiple-choice examinations were administered to LATAM participants, and pre- and post-course self-confidence (1–5 Likert-scale) and open-ended feedback were collected from all participants. Results Twenty-five centers across Africa (13) and LATAM (12) participated, yielding a total of 332 enrolled participants (128 African, 204 LATAM). Sessions were delivered with a mean of 44 (22.5) and 85 (25.4) participants in the African and LATAM programs, respectively. Paired pre and post-course data demonstrated significant (p
- Published
- 2024
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