Supportive Care in Oncology programme drives knowledge change
Overwhelming intent to change clinical practice has been recorded among healthcare professionals (HCPs) engaging with a Supportive Care in Oncology Learning Zone hosted on the independent medical education platform Medthority (www.medthority.com).
Supportive care in cancer is an emerging, often overlooked discipline which involves the management of physical and psychological symptoms and side effects, to support patients from diagnosis through treatment to post-treatment care.
Targeting oncologists as well as primary care practitioners, the Medthority educational programme set out to boost awareness, knowledge and change practice in this area, with HCPs able to explore:
- The critical role of supportive care in cancer management and how to implement this into clinical practice;
- Videos featuring world-renowned experts Dr Matti Aapro and Dr Gary Lyman, who discuss supportive care and side effect management;
- Guideline recommendations for managing side effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapies.
A key aim was to reach HCPs who consume existing oncology content on Medthority, which saw the use of innovative retargeting techniques including automated, personalised emails and on-site notifications to drive engagement with the programme.
This Learning Zone was developed independently by EPG Health, an IQVIA business, after receiving an unrestricted educational grant from Sandoz (a Novartis division).
PROGRAMME IMPACT
With close to 90% of HCPs reached coming from the intended audience, outcomes from the Supportive Care in Oncology programme’s first six months give reason to anticipate positive impact on patient care.
85% of HCPs rate their understanding of the topic as ‘high’ or ‘very high’ after engaging with the programme (versus just 17% pre-engagement), while 100% confirmed they will consider providing more supportive care to cancer patients (Moore’s Level 4), compared with 44% who reported doing so pre-engagement.
This closely matches feedback from across the Medthority audience, which shows that 90% of HCPs feel Learning Zones support their treatment decisions.
These outcomes follow meaningful engagement with the Supportive Care in Oncology Learning Zone:
- Average session time: ~7 minutes
- Page views per session: 2.3 pages
- Repeat user rate: 36% (following audience retargeting campaigns)
In light of the impact achieved to date, grant funding for the Learning Zone has been extended for a further period of 6 months, with content continuing to evolve in line with identified educational gaps.