Oral Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

Online communication skills training for healthcare professionals working with First Nations Australians in radiation therapy: Effects on self-reported confidence, skills, and knowledge   (126195)

Ken Carter 1 , Lara Stoll 1 , Shafkat Jahan 1 , Haryana Dhillon 2 , Joan Cunningham 3 , Joanne Shaw 2 , michael penniment 4 , Sabe Sabesan 5 , Georgia Halkett 6 , Siddhartha Baxi 7 8 , Adam Stoneley 9 , Luke McGhee 10 , Giam Kar 11 , Sian Smith 12 , Gail Garvey 1
  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane
  2. PoCog, The University of Sydney, Sydney
  3. Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin
  4. Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
  5. Townsville Hospital and Health Service, Townsville
  6. Curtin University, Perth
  7. GenesisCare, Gold Coast
  8. Griffith University, Gold Coast
  9. Icon Cancer Centre, Brisbane
  10. Icon Cancer Centre, Cairns
  11. Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre, Darwin
  12. The University of New South Wales, Sydney

Objectives/purpose

Strengthening the capacity of health services—including healthcare professional (HCP) knowledge and skills— are key to delivering high-quality, culturally appropriate cancer care for First Nations Peoples and improving their cancer outcomes. This study evaluates the effectiveness of online-learning modules in strengthening HCPs’ self-reported confidence, skills, and knowledge in communicating with First Nations cancer patients.

Sample and setting

Participants included 38 HCPs, providing radiation therapy patient education to First Nations cancer patients. Participants were recruited from three Australian cancer care centres in Darwin, Cairns, and Townsville.

Procedures

Participants completed a pre-training survey administered via Qualtrics, including five statements assessing self-reported confidence, skills, and knowledge in providing cancer care to First Nations patients referred to radiation therapy (1-5: 1=Strongly disagree, 5=Strongly agree). Participants completed three online-learning modules on: Cultural competency; Health literacy/Communication; and Using a talking book resource. Participants then completed a post-training survey with the same items and module evaluation questions. Pre/post-training differences were analysed using paired-sample t-tests. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to evaluate the feedback.

Results

Self-reported confidence, skills, and knowledge significantly improved post-training. The mean confidence in communicating with First Nations Australians about their cancer and treatment increased from 3.50 to 4.03 (p=0.001), and preparedness to support patient needs rose from 3.55 to 3.95 (p=0.012). The training was highly rated, with 95% of participants rating it as 4-good or 5-excellent. Feedback indicated the audiovisual format and culturally tailored content were particularly effective.

Conclusion and clinical implications

Our findings demonstrate tailored online-learning modules can significantly enhance radiation therapy HCP’s self-reported confidence, skills and knowledge in communicating with First Nations cancer patients. Further research should consider evaluating improvement of HCP communication skills in practice following the online-learning modules. Integrating training into practice may promote culturally responsive cancer care, strengthening engagement and support for First Nations Australian patients.