Project description:BackgroundThe humanities can aid in the development of important skills for trainee physicians. Because of the nature of their work, palliative medicine residents are expected to apply humanities-based skills frequently in their clinical work and are also likely to use humanities-based skills to support their own self-care. Our project explored the role of the humanities in palliative medicine residency programs across Canada.MethodsEach priority topic or objective of the current palliative medicine residency training standards in Canada was reviewed to determine whether they relate to the humanities. A cross-sectional survey was subsequently created using Qualtrics, with the target study population being current palliative medicine residents and palliative medicine staff physicians at academic centers in Canada.ResultsMultiple humanities objectives exist in Canadian palliative medicine training standards, primarily in the ethical, cultural, and spiritual domains. Eighty-seven people completed the cross-sectional survey, for a 17.4% response rate and 94.6% completion rate. The vast majority (90%) of survey participants felt that the humanities had an important role in medical training at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and more than 70% of participants felt that the humanities had an important role in palliative medicine residency training. In some areas, the humanities participants felt that their programs would most benefit from ethics, philosophy, and culture. Over 65% agreed or strongly agreed that their own palliative medicine program would benefit from more humanities content.ConclusionCanadian palliative medicine training standards require residents to demonstrate humanities-based skills. Most survey participants state that the humanities have an important role in medical training at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and that their own palliative medicine residency program would benefit from more humanities content. These results may guide future studies to better understand why and how more humanities content can be added to palliative medicine residency programs to optimize residents' learning experiences and better prepare them for careers in palliative medicine.
Project description:BackgroundChinese medicine (CM) modalities, including acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), are popular palliative interventions among patients with cancer, but further clinical research is required to assess their effectiveness and safety.ObjectiveTo prioritize top ten important CM clinical research questions from patients with cancer, cancer survivors and caregivers' perspectives via a face-to-face prioritization workshop in Hong Kong.MethodsA list of 25 CM clinical research questions for cancer palliative care, which were identified from existing systematic reviews (SRs) and overview of SRs, was presented to 17 participants (patients with cancer [n = 5], cancer survivors [n = 6] and caregivers [n = 6]). The participants were then invited to establish consensus on prioritizing top ten research questions.ResultsAmong the top ten priorities, five (50%) focused on acupuncture and related therapies, while five (50%) were on CHM. The three most important research priorities were (i) manual acupuncture plus opioids for relieving pain; (ii) CHM for improving quality of life among patients receiving chemotherapy; and (iii) concurrent use of CHM plus loperamide for reducing stomatitis.ConclusionThe top ten participant-endorsed CM clinical research priorities for cancer palliative care can guide local researchers on future direction. They can also inform local research funders on patient-centred allocation of limited funding. Under limited research funding, the most important co-prioritized research question from professional and patient perspectives may be addressed first.Patient or public contributionPatients with cancer, cancer survivors and caregivers participated in conduct of the study to prioritize CM clinical research questions.