Longitudinal Remote SBRT/SRS Training in Latin America: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background

Continuing medical education in stereotactic technology are scarcely accessible in developing countries. We report the results of upscaling a longitudinal telehealth training course on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), after successfully developing a pilot course in Latin America.

Methods

Longitudinal training on SBRT and SRS was provided to radiation oncology practitioners in Peru and Colombia at no cost. The program included sixteen weekly 1-hour live conferencing sessions with interactive didactics and a cloud-based platform for case-based learning. Participant-reported confidence was measured in 16 SBRT/SRS practical domains, based on a 1-to-5 Likert scale. Pre- and post-curriculum exams were required for participation credit. Knowledge-baseline, pre- and post-curriculum surveys, overall and single professional-group confidence changes, and exam results were assessed.

Results

One hundred and seventy-three radiotherapy professionals participated. An average of 56 (SD ±18) attendees per session were registered. Fifty (29.7%) participants completed the pre- and post-curriculum surveys, of which 30% were radiation oncologists (RO), 26% radiation therapists (RTT), 20% residents, 18% medical physicists and 6% neurosurgeons. Significant improvements were found across all 16 domains with overall mean +0.55 (SD ±0.17, p<0.001) Likert-scale points. Significant improvements in individual competences were most common among medical physicists, RTT and residents. Pre- and post-curriculum exams yielded a mean 16.15/30 (53.8 ± 20.3%) and 23.6/30 (78.7 ± 19.3%) correct answers (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Longitudinal telehealth training is an effective method for improving confidence and knowledge on SBRT/SRS amongst professionals. Remote continuing medical education should be widely adopted in lower-middle income countries.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2022 Sarria, Timmerman, Hermansen, Malhotra, Chang, Carter, Martinez, Sarria, Giordano, Chetty, Roa and Li.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

GRS, grants and personal fees from Carl Zeiss Meditec AG and personal fees from Roche Pharma AG, not related to this work. GJS, personal fees from Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, not related to this work. FG reports research grants and travel expenses from ELEKTA AB, grants, stocks, travel expenses and honoraria from NOXXON Pharma AG, research grants, travel expenses and honoraria from Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, travel expenses and honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche Pharma AG, MSD Sharp and Dohme GmbH and AstraZeneca GmbH, non-financial support from Oncare GmbH and Opasca GmbH. IC, research grants and travel expenses from Varian Medical Systems, Inc., research grants from Phillips Healthcare. GRS, RT, MH, SM, BC, RC, DM, IC, DR, and BL are volunteer non-paid members of Rayos Contra Cancer, Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.