Evaluating the Knowledge Change Before and After Continuing Cancer Education in Malawian Nurses

Jennifer Hotchkiss, Agatha Kapatuka Bula, Chifundo Zimba, Samuel Bingo, Mabel Chinkhata, Lixin Song, Ashley Leak Bryant

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Malawi has a high cancer incidence and mortality. Efforts to train and educate oncology nurses have been identified as an area of need. This study evaluates the educational needs of oncology nurses in Malawi and the effects of a virtual cancer education program on improving the knowledge of cancer epidemiology, treatment, and nursing care of common cancers among oncology nurses in Malawi. The educational programs consisted of four sessions at one-month intervals focused on Cancer Screening, Survivorship, Radiation Therapy, and Complementary and Alternative Therapies. A pretest–posttest design was used. Overall, there was an increase in knowledge at each session: cancer screening (47% vs 95%), survivorship (22% vs 100%), radiation therapy (66% vs 100%), and complementary and alternative therapies (63% vs 88%). Using virtual continuing education sessions is an effective tool to enhance the knowledge of oncology nurses in Malawi. These education sessions can serve as an example of how other Schools of Nursing and cancer centers in high-resource countries can collaborate with hospitals and Schools of Nursing in low- and middle-resource countries to support the advancement of oncology nursing knowledge, and ultimately, oncologic care.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1624-1628
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Cancer Education
Volume38
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2023

Keywords

  • Cancer
  • Education
  • Knowledge
  • Malawi
  • Nurse
  • Virtual

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Evaluating the Knowledge Change Before and After Continuing Cancer Education in Malawian Nurses'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this