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

Minimum competencies for oncology providers to provide self-management support (SMS) to people with cancer (126670)

Reegan Knowles 1 , Andi Agbejule 1 , Matthew Wallen 1 , Alexandre Chan 2 , Doris Howell 3 , Bogda Koczwara 4 , Wendy Wing Tak Lam 5 , Larissa Nekhlyudov 6 , Enrique Soto 7 , Sharon Lawn 8 , Raymond Chan 1
  1. Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
  3. Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Research Institute, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  4. Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  6. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, US
  7. Department of Geriatrics, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico
  8. College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Introduction

Cancer-care providers (CCPs) play a critical role in supporting patients to self-manage aspects of their health and disease. Previously, we developed a comprehensive framework of 42 SMS performance criteria for cancer nurses. Whilst the original framework is exhaustive, in this study we aimed to delineate which criteria should be expected as minimum competencies for all CCPs.

 

Methods

We conducted a mixed methods study involving a 2-round modified Delphi study with CCPs, and qualitative interviews with patient advocates. Participants from the research team’s networks were recruited via email, with consent provided online. In round 1, participants used a 5-point Likert-scale to rate which of the 42 original performance criteria should be minimum competencies. Consensus was reached when ≥90% of participants ‘agreed’/‘strongly agreed’ a performance criterion should be minimum. In round 2, participants re-rated criteria that did not reach consensus. Next, patient advocates (including people with lived experience, and carers), provided feedback on the performance criteria that reached consensus. Interview data informed finalisation of the minimum competencies.

Results

Twenty-seven CCPs, including nursing, medical and allied-health professionals, from 14 countries, with up to 40+yrs experience, participated in Delphi round 1, with 19 of these participating in round 2.  Consensus was reached for 18 criteria relating to communication, behaviour-change, assessing self-management capacity, integration in cancer-care, self-management monitoring and health promotion. Patient advocates agreed with these 18 competencies should be minimum for all CCPs and made suggestions to strengthen competencies, e.g., by highlighting patient empowerment and non-judgemental communication. 

Conclusion: The minimum competencies for effective SMS may inform professional training, assessment of competency, and policy to improve SMS capacity. A patient-friendly resource may also empower patients to advocate for SMS.