Establishment of consensus on content and learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer: a Delphi survey

BACKGROUND: Complex treatment, care and rehabilitation require continuous healthcare professional development and maintenance of competencies in collaboration with other professionals. Interprofessional education in childhood cancer involves several groups of healthcare professionals with both general and specific knowledge and skills. OBJECTIVE: To establish consensus on content and interprofessional learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer. DESIGN: A three-round Delphi survey in Scandinavian childhood cancer departments. PARTICIPANTS: Healthcare professionals appointed by their head of departments and head nurses based on their profession and their involvement in continuing professional development. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A prioritised list of interprofessional learning objectives with a mean score of ≥3 on a five-point scale (1=not relevant, 5=extremely relevant). RESULTS: 12 childhood cancer departments participated with 30 healthcare professionals: 11 nurses, 10 medical doctors, 5 social workers, 2 physiotherapists and 2 pedagogues. In total, 28 (93%), 25 (83%) and 22 (73%) completed the first, second and third round, respectively. In the first round, we asked open-ended questions and used directed content analysis to analyse 386 statements. We formulated 170 interprofessional learning objectives in six categories: (1) acute life-threatening situations, (2) gastrointestinal toxicities and side effects, (3) pain, (4) palliation, (5) play and activity, and (6) prescription and administration of medicine. The second round resulted in 168 interprofessional learning objectives receiving a mean score of ≥3 on a five-point scale. Final agreement in the third round resulted in a prioritised list of 168 learning objectives. CONCLUSIONS: Consensus on content and interprofessional learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer was established across five groups of healthcare professionals in three countries. Some learning objectives are generic and can be applied in settings other than childhood cancer, where healthcare professionals collaborate to provide patients and families optimal treatment and care.