Truenorth sexual health and rehabilitation etraining (sharetraining) in prostate cancer: evaluation of an online course for practitioners

Abstract Introduction Sexual dysfunction (SD) is a prevalent and distressing side effect for survivors of prostate cancer (PCa). Unfortunately, many health care practitioners (HCPs) report a lack of training and confidence in addressing the sexual health needs of PCa patients. Consequently, many PCa patients do not receive the comprehensive sexual healthcare needed to manage their SD. Objective To address the gap in HCP training, the Movember Foundation funded the development and evaluation of a 12-week, faculty-facilitated, online course designed to train HCPs in the delivery of PCa specific sexual health counselling: the TrueNorth Sexual Health And Rehabilitation eTraining (SHAReTraining). Course content includes, SD assessment and intervention, professional ethics, unique needs of sexual and gender minority populations, and approaches to implementing sexual health programming in a healthcare setting. Methods Participants completed a pre-course survey (n=23), a retrospective pre-post survey (n=19), and a 3-month follow-up survey (n=19) to assess retention of relevant outcomes. Outcomes included HCP perceived knowledge and self-efficacy to conduct assessments and provide interventions across a number of relevant physical, functional, psychological, and relational domains of SD in PCa survivors and their partners. Additionally, completed a course satisfaction survey at the conclusion of the course. Results Descriptive analysis of the pre-post survey revealed that graduates perceived knowledge of sexual health counselling improved from a mean of 51.12% pre-course to 75.18% post-course across all measured domains. Similarly, graduate ratings of self-efficacy in providing comprehensive care increased from a mean of 56.63% pre-course to 79.73% post-course. The follow-up survey demonstrated participants’ self-efficacy remained high 3-months post-course at 79.75%. Graduate experience taking the course was uniformly positive with a vast majority (94.7%) agreeing that they were satisfied with the course. Conclusions For HCPs seeking specialized sexual health care training for PCa patients, the TrueNorth SHAReTraining course is an accessible and effective resource. Graduates of the course have the potential to improve the quality of SD care they provide to their patients. Disclosure No