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Digital solutions to facilitate education, training and professional support for paediatric oncology and other health professionals in rural and other low-resource settings

Alexandra Martiniuk (The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia)
Julia Challinor (University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA)
Ramandeep S. Arora (Paediatric Oncology Disease Management Group, Max Super Speciality Hospital Saket, New Delhi, India)
Sri Andini Handayani (St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia)
Catherine Lam (St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, WHO Collaborating Center for Childhood Cancer, Memphis, Tennessee, USA)

Health Education

ISSN: 0965-4283

Article publication date: 24 August 2021

Issue publication date: 9 March 2022

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Abstract

Purpose

Globally, cancer represents an increasing proportion of child mortality as progress against infectious causes is made. Approximately 400,000 children will develop cancer, each year, around the world. Only about half of these cancers will ever be diagnosed. In high-resource settings, 80% of children will survive, but only about 30% will survive in low-resource settings. Digital solutions have a valuable role in increasing health professional knowledge, skills and empowerment to diagnose, treat and otherwise care for children and adolescents with cancer. This review sought to identify digital resources that support the training and development of the paediatric oncology workforce in resource -poor settings.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a narrative descriptive review of peer-reviewed publications and digital platforms that contribute to health professionals' education and training regarding paediatric oncology, particularly in rural and other low-resource settings.

Findings

Digital solutions were identified for building communities of practice, facilitating access to information and support and providing access to training, education and supervision specifically for paediatric oncology health professionals. A total of 33 resources are discussed in depth. A quality assessment of the digital resources is provided using the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose (CRAAP) tool and suggestions to improve the quality of resources are discussed.

Practical implications

The authors anticipate that this summary of digital resources for the global paediatric oncology professional community will inform digital health investments and design of digital innovations to meet emerging needs and will have an impact on the workforce in the real world. Ultimately, this work will contribute to an improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with cancer in resource-poor settings.

Originality/value

This is the first discussion and summary of digital education platforms which educate, train and offer support to health professionals with respect to paediatric oncology. These digital platforms are often aimed at, and are essential for, health professionals in rural and other low-resource settings.

Keywords

Citation

Martiniuk, A., Challinor, J., Arora, R.S., Handayani, S.A. and Lam, C. (2022), "Digital solutions to facilitate education, training and professional support for paediatric oncology and other health professionals in rural and other low-resource settings", Health Education, Vol. 122 No. 2, pp. 232-259. https://doi.org/10.1108/HE-02-2021-0035

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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