Evaluation of the faculty experience in developing and delivering palliative care e-resource toolkit for COVID-19 for low and middle income countries (LMICS)

ABSTRACT

Background: Integrated palliative care through equipped health care workers is essential in supporting those affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. We developed & disseminated a Palliative Care in COVID-19 Resource Toolkit for LMICs focussing on those affected by co-morbidities & comprising an e-book, webinars x5, ECHO platform interactive sessions for HCW. Core competencies were ethics & goals of care, communication, self-care, symptom control, end of life care, bereavement & making sense of distress. To date delivery of 26 courses to >1200 participants in 15 countries. Quantitative data from participants show impact on all areas of competence. Objective: To evaluate the faculty experience in the development and delivery of the Resource Tool kit . Methods: A google forms survey to all faculty rating their experience of preparation, planning & delivery + pre & post levels of confidence & knowledge. Results: 19 faculty ( 95%), median age 51(29-63), 84% doctors, 10% nurses, 21% & 31% >20 years experience in PC & teaching respectively. 20% no prior experience of virtual teaching & 95% no experience of flipped classrooms. >90% agreed WhatsApp communication, co-facilitation & teaching methodology using flipped classrooms, algorithms & case narrative helpful.Faculty reported feeling valued, supported,engaged & a sense of solidarity and purpose. There was improvement in knowledge (pre 6.55 post 7.64) & confidence (pre 6.06 post 7.76) in teaching competency domains. 95% would recommend the Toolkit. Conclusion: The experience of developing & delivering a novel online training package showed benefits for this experienced Faculty in developing knowledge & confidence as well as a sense of purpose & solidarity when working in isolation in the midst of a pandemic. Using novel teaching methods & co-facilitation with peer support offered learning relevant for future training. Further qualitative study planned to explore the impact for Faculty & Participants.