MASCC Education Study Group
Leadership
Chair: Paz Fernández-Ortega, RN, MSc, PhD - Spain Vice-Chair: Manon Lemonde, PhD, RN - Canada Vice-Chair: Judy Phillips, DNP, FNP-BC, AOCN - USA
Subgroup: Digital Health (View details)
Leadership Co-Chair: Penelope Schofield, PhD - Australia Co-Chair: Ysabella Van Sebille, PhD, MD - Australia
For more information or to contact the Study Group Leaders, please send an email to Leslie Johnson.
Mission and Goals
The goal of the Patient Education Study Group is to ensure that patient education is an integral part of all aspects of supportive cancer care. A needs assessment survey of MASCC members has provided useful information for future planning.
Recent Study Group activities include the development and pilot of a patient guide containing questions that patients might want to ask about their disease and treatment. The Study Group is also collaborating with the Mucositis Study Group to develop a patient education brochure and test its effectiveness in several languages and cultural settings. The Study Group has discussed the need to evaluate the readability of existing patient education materials and how best to respond to members who have indicated a lack of patient education materials in their own countries and languages.
Guidelines & Assessment Tools
- MASCC Antiemesis Tool© (MAT) - The MAT is available in English and five languages (French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), obtained by the standard forward/backward translation process. This tool is for the professional to use in assessing a patients nausea and vomiting.
- MASCC Oral Agent Teaching Tool© (MOATT) - The MASCC Teaching Tool for Patients Receiving Oral Agents for Cancer (MOATT) was developed by MASCC members and evaluated and revised so that it may be used worldwide. It is available in several languages that were translated using the standard forward/backward translation process. Kav S, et al (2008).
- Role of the Nurse in Patient Education and Follow-Up of People Receiving Oral Chemotherapy Treatment: An International Survey. Supportive Care in Cancer 2008;16(9):1075-83. Kav S, Johnson J, Rittenberg, C, Fernandez-Ortega P, Suominen T, Olsen P, et al.
- Abstracts of the 2008 International MASCC/ISOO Symposium. Supportive Care in Cancer 2008;16(6):619-756.
- Development of the MASCC Teaching Tool for Patients Receiving Oral Agents for Cancer. Supportive Care in Cancer 2010;18(5):583-590. Kav S, Schulmeister L, Nirenberg A, Barber L, Johnson J, Rittenberg C.
Past Workshops
Recent Member Publications
Recent Study Group member publications related to cancer education, literacy, and communication.
Resources
Cancersymptoms.org - An ONS website designed for patients and caregivers. Provides information on managing common symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment.
Cancer.Net — Information and resources for people living with cancer and those who care for and about them. From the American Society of Clinical Oncology with support from the Conquer Cancer Foundation.
CancerCare® — Dedicated to helping people face the many challenges of a cancer diagnosis through counseling, support groups, education, and financial assistance. CancerCare®, a cancer counseling and support organization, provides easy-to-read booklets and fact sheets on cancer-related topics (within the US and Canada). CancerCare also conducts Connect Education Workshops, in which leading experts in oncology provide up-to-date information on cancer-related topics. The workshops are recorded and available for online listening or downloading in mp3 format.
Education Subgroup on Digital Health
Within the fields of both oncology and supportive care, digital health is rapidly becoming recognized as an innovative and important means of improving medical efficiency and patient outcomes. Digital health — the use of technology to improve health and healthcare — is a simple concept, but a broad field that encompasses telehealth and telemedicine, health information technology, mobile health, and personalized medicine. One of its prime aims and benefits is the empowerment of all individuals to make better-informed health decisions by providing accurate and appropriate information as well as options for prevention, early diagnosis, and disease management outside traditional healthcare settings. Digital health products include mobile medical apps, decision support software, wearable devices, and more.
The initial aims of the new Subgroup are to promote education and awareness of health technologies in supportive cancer care and to create research collaboration opportunities in digital health among MASCC members. While the Subgroup is maintained within the Education Study Group, the topic of digital health cuts across numerous themes in supportive cancer care. Members of the new Subgroup will work to educate and collaborate with all MASCC members and Study Groups.
Subgroup Leaders Co-chairs Penelope (Penny) Schofield, PhD, and Ysabella (Bella) Van Sebille, PhD, both have a professional interest in digital health and have been active members of MASCC for many years. Dr. Schofield is Head of the Behavioural Science in Cancer, Department of Cancer Experiences Research at Peter Macallum Cancer Centre in Victoria, Australia, and Professor of Health Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Van Sebille is the Program Facilitator for the Division of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia Online and a member of the Cancer Treatment Toxicities Group.
How to Join To join the Digital Health Subgroup, a MASCC member must also be a member of the Education Study Group. Join the Subgroup by editing your Profile in your Account settings. (Log in at the MASCC website, go to My Account, and then Edit Profile.)
Share Your Ideas Drs. Schofield and Van Sebille welcome your suggestions and research ideas. Share your thoughts at a Subgroup meeting (at the next Annual Meeting) or contact the leaders by sending an email to to Leslie Johnson.
Please contact the Study Group Chairs above with your questions. MASCC Study Group Coordinator, Leslie Johnson
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