Impact of an Interprofessional Primary Care Training on Fear of Cancer Recurrence on Clinicians' Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, Anticipated Practice Behaviors, and Attitudes Toward Survivorship Care

Abstract

There are an estimated 15.5 million cancer survivors in the United States, with numbers projected to increase. Many cancer survivors are receiving survivorship care in primary care settings, yet primary care providers report a need for additional training on addressing medical and psychosocial concerns of cancer survivors. This paper presents findings from a pilot study on the effectiveness of a novel training for interprofessional primary care providers on the clinically significant issue of fear of cancer recurrence. The on-site training was provided to a total of 46 participants, including physicians (61%), physician assistants (11%), nurse practitioners (7%), nurses (17%), and social workers (4%) in six different primary care practices. The average number of years of professional experience was 18.8, with standard deviation of 10.9. Results of paired-sample t tests indicated that the training increased knowledge and self-efficacy of providers in identifying and addressing FCR. The training was well-received by participants, who had high confidence in implementing practice behavior changes, although they also identified barriers. Results suggest the feasibility of a brief training for continuing education and have implications for models of care delivery in cancer survivorship.