Background: Breast cancer detection should be carried out by a team involving a number of health professionals from various medical, nursing and allied health disciplines. Students from different health disciplines often have little idea of what each other’s roles entail. Interprofessional learning increase this knowledge, as well as giving students an understanding of the interpersonal skills needed for liaison and communication. Aim: to study and develop interprofessional eLearning about breast cancer detection for health care staff. Intellectual outputs of the project are O1: Study about mammography education and clinical practice in Europe dedicated to breast cancer screening and diagnostic, O2: Multimedia educational package about early BC detection and diagnostic procedures among nurses, radiographers and biomedical laboratory scientists and lecturers in the field, O3: Multimedia educational package on breast screening, imaging and quality assurance competences for radiographers and O4: Open and closed multimedia educational package on further examination (FE) and new breast imaging modalities competence for radiographers and biomedical laboratory scientists. Also Intensive program in interprofessional eLearning in early detection of breast cancer for health care lecturers and staff (C1) will be organized. Methods: In order to fulfill objective 1 related intellectual output 1, the methodology of systematic literature reviews and surveys with questionnaires are used. The e-learning packages (O2-O4) are developed in the evidence-based way, i.e. at the first phase the best available knowledge (regulation documents, literature review, research results, expert knowledge, best practices + user views) are being surveyed. Evidence-base method serves also as pedagogial principle in line with eLearning pedagogics.In the basis of this best available knowledge core competences, contents, learning outcomes and materials are deceloped. Asyncronous and syncronous forms of eLearning are used in in the open access platform there educational packages are constructed in. Target groups: Health care staff working in breast cancer detection service chain primarily in European countries but open access eLearning makes the education also available to health care staff all over the world, so tenths of thousands of members of health care staff can study asyncronous version of the course. However also version where communication with lecturer is possible will be prepared. For these courses students have access via institutions taking part this project since they need lecturer work hours and presence. Approximate number taking part these courses per year is about 70. There will be about 70 participants in the intensive course. Impact: Increased competences of health care professionals as well as better diagnostic image quality and better radiation safety. More understanding about educational systems in the area in the area of breast screening. More understanding about each others professional work in breast cancer care and diagnostics for the benefit of the patient in the participating countries. Project will improve co-operation between different professional groups in breast cancer patient’s prediagnostic process. This will result better services for women entering breast cancer diagnostic process at local, regional and international level. Since education is put into open access platform available internationally this affects into harmonizing health care staff interprofessional work in this service chain. Improved health care staff patient guidance competences about early BC detection and diagnostic procedures will improve seamless care and services of this vulnerable patient group. This helps right timing and focusing of care and services. Better competences in this area also impacts to the quality of diagnosis.
Background: Breast cancer (BC) detection should be carried out by a team involving a number of health professionals from various medical, nursing and allied health disciplines. Students from different health disciplines have often a limited understanding of what other health professionals’ roles are. Interprofessional learning promotes this understanding, giving also an understanding of the interpersonal skills needed for liaison and communication. Aim of the project was to study and develop the competences of health professionals, lecturers and students in the field of BC detection. To achieve this aim four objectives were planned and carried out: 1) research activities about mammography education and clinical practice regarding BC screening and diagnostics; 2) educational package about early BC detection and diagnostic procedures among nurses, radiographers and biomedical laboratory scientists and lecturers in the field; 3) multimedia educational package on breast screening, imaging and quality assurance competences for radiographers; 4) multimedia educational package on further imaging and laboratory examinations for radiographers and biomedical laboratory scientists. In addition, a 5-day intensive training programme conducted for lecturers and clinical professionals who are going to implement the developed e-learning materials. Methods: In order to fulfil objective 1, the methodology of systematic literature reviews and surveys with questionnaires (for lecturers, students and radiographers) were used. Three e-learning packages were developed in the evidence-based way, i.e. at first the best available knowledge (regulation documents, literature reviews, research results, expert knowledge, best practices and user views) were searched for and reviewed. This evidence-based method serves also as a pedagogical principle in line with e-learning pedagogy. On the basis of the best available knowledge, the core competences, learning outcomes and material contents were developed. Target groups involve health professionals working in the service chain of breast cancer detection, primarily in European countries, but open access e-learning materials make the education also available to professionals all over the world. However, the prepared e-learning modules or single items from the modules can be integrated into undergraduate or specialist programmes and used under lecturer tutoring. All the educational institutions belonging to the project consortium are already using or are planning the implementation of the developed learning materials in some way. The intensive programme that was aimed to the implementation of the learning materials was participated on-site by lecturers and clinical professionals from the countries involved in the project, but also by a number of online participants from various European countries. Impact: Impact of the project is twofold, the impact of the published research results and the impact resulting from the process and outcomes of learning material development. Research results have been made public through open access research articles as well as at congresses and conferences in Europe and beyond. These results have identified the current difficulties in mammography education and clinical practice – this kind of evidence can underpin the promotion of education and clinical practice beyond the institutions participating in the project. The development process of e-learning packages supported the promotion of understanding regarding the nature and importance of interprofessional education and practice among the lecturers and health care professionals participating in the project. In addition, the curricula of participating educational institutions have a component of mammography educations that can be used in various ways.