Training Cancer Care Providers to Implement Sensitive Practice Guidelines When Treating Adult Survivors of Sexual Violence: A Blended Learning Approach - Rationale: In the United States, nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men report sexual violence (SV) in their lifetime. For SV survivors, cancer care can be triggering and retraumatizing due to perceived similarities between aspects of cancer treatment and SV (e.g., being asked to undress or lie still, being touched). This retraumatization can be associated with intense patient distress, as well as with avoidance or delay of cancer care. Yet despite the prevalence of SV and the negative effects it can have on cancer care experiences, training in working with SV survivors is not a standard component of providers’ education. Objectives: Our original sensitive practice training program (SPT) was successful – we trained 321 cancer care providers over 6 years from across the nation who were satisfied with the course, and put the skills taught into practice. The program remains the only nationwide, sensitive practice training program with a cancer focus. The goal of this competitive renewal is to continue this provider skills training program in the service of helping SV survivors to feel as safe and empowered as possible during cancer care. The training format for SPT is blended learning, combining asynchronous and synchronous online learning. SPT in the renewal period will have three primary components: 1) Core E-Learning modules (updated versions of the previous SPT program); 2) Elective webinars focused on special topics (e.g., sensitive practice in palliative/hospice care, implementation of sensitive practice); and, 3) Ongoing training and connection opportunities (e.g., office hours with small group case discussions, a peer-learning “buddy” system). The faculty represents multiple disciplines including psychology, social work, radiation oncology, radiation therapy, and translational health sciences. The Specific Aims are to: 1) evaluate trainee accrual to, retention in, and satisfaction with SPT; 2) evaluate the effectiveness of the SPT program on trainees’ sensitive practice knowledge, decision-making, and task performance; and, 3) evaluate trainees’ transfer of sensitive practice skills to their work performance and their perceptions of how implementing sensitive practice impacted them. The SPT content is guided by the sensitive practice Umbrella of Safety principles (respect, rapport, taking time, sharing information, sharing control, respecting boundaries, mutual learning, understanding non-linear healing, demonstrating an understanding of sexual violence). The evaluation plan for SPT is guided by the Learning-Transfer Evaluation model. Evaluations are linked to each training component, and will be administered prior to, during, and 3 months after participation. Methods: We will recruit and train a multidisciplinary group of cancer care providers (N=275; including clinicians, students, and cancer care leaders) from across the country. Long-term goals: This renewal would allow us to continue the critical work of training the cancer workforce to meet the needs of the large and too often overlooked group of SV survivors undergoing cancer care. Connection to NCI mission: The project is consistent with NCI’s emphasis on provider training and promoting patient-centered care.
