The effectiveness of interprofessional peer-led teaching and learning for therapeutic radiography students and Speech and Language Therapy students.

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic Radiographers (RT) and Speech and Language Therapists (SLT) work closely together in caring for people with head and neck cancer and need a strong understanding of each others' roles. Peer teaching has been shown to be one of the most effective methods of teaching; however, no studies to date, have involved RT and SLT students. This research aims to establish the effectiveness and perceptions of peer-led teaching between undergraduate RT and SLT students in Ulster University. METHODS: Twenty SLT students and 14 RT students participated. Knowledge tests were taken online before the peer-led teaching session (T1), after the session (T2) and 3 months later (T3). Students' perceptions of the experience were collected at the end of the session. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyse the impact of the intervention on knowledge scores. Qualitative content analysis was used for open text response data. RESULTS: RT students' own professional knowledge score at T2 was statistically significantly higher than the score at T1; the score at T3 was not deemed to be statistically significantly higher. RT students' SLT knowledge score at T2 and T3 was found to be statistically significantly higher than the score at T1. SLT students' own professional knowledge score was not statistically significantly higher at T2 or T3 than T1. They did have a statistically significantly higher score at T2 on the RT test, but score at T3 was not deemed to be statistically significantly higher. The majority of students across both professions agreed or strongly agreed that the peer-led teaching experience had a positive impact on their learning. CONCLUSION: This investigation highlights the benefits of an interprofessional peer-led teaching intervention for RT and SLT students and the findings add to the evidence of more objective study of knowledge gain as a result of interprofessional peer teaching.

Applying the COM-B behaviour model to understand factors which impact 15-16 year old students' ability to protect themselves against acquirement of Human Papilloma virus (HPV) in Northern Ireland, UK.

High-risk strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) can lead to the development of a number of cancers including cervical, vulvar, penile, anal and oropharyngeal. HPV vaccination programmes offer the HPV vaccine to males and females 12-13 years old in schools throughout the UK. However, knowledge of HPV remains low in post-primary schools. The aim of this study is to capture 15-16 year old students' perceptions regarding the current provision of HPV education, and whether providing HPV education to 15-16 year olds could influence their intention to be vaccinated and/or future sexual health decisions related to HPV. Between 5th November 2021 and 6th May 2022, seven focus groups were conducted with 34 students in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The data was analysed using the COM-B behaviour model to explore the perceived facilitators and barriers impacting students' ability to protect themselves from acquirement of HPV. Students perceived their knowledge of HPV to be poor and supported the addition of comprehensive mandatory HPV education at 15-16 years old when many of them were becoming sexually active. They identified barriers including lack of parental education, school ethos and religion and insufficient education regarding their legal rights to self-consent to HPV vaccination. Students felt that removal of these barriers would lead to safer sexual practices, increased awareness of the importance of HPV screening and increased HPV vaccination uptake. The recommendations provided by students need to be supported by the Education Authority in conjunction with the Department of Health in order to be successfully implemented into the post-primary school curriculum.

Applying the COM-B behaviour model to understand factors which impact school immunisation nurses' attitudes towards designing and delivering a HPV educational intervention in post-primary schools for 15-17 year old students in Northern Ireland, UK.

INTRODUCTION: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is responsible for the development of cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, oropharyngeal and anal cancers. Throughout the UK, Immunisation nurses (IMNs) deliver school-based HPV vaccinations to students 12-13 years old. Providing HPV education to 15-17 year old students may promote decision-making regarding their sexual health and award opportunity for unvaccinated students to self-consent to the vaccination. This study aims to explore the perceptions of IMNs regarding the value of providing HPV education to 15-17 year old students and to explore whether IMNs feel that the design/delivery of this education should form part of their professional role. METHODS: Six focus groups were conducted online with IMNs from all five Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland, UK, between January-June 2021. Data were analysed using the COM-B model to identify factors that might influence IMNs' behaviour towards designing/delivering this education for 15-17 year old students. RESULTS: IMNs were highly motivated to design and deliver this HPV education. Facilitators promoting this behaviour included their specialist training, their previous sexual health teaching experience and their desire to educate young people. Barriers negatively influencing this behaviour included lack of time/resources, parental influences, lack of school support and lack of teaching/presentation skills training. CONCLUSION: IMNs feel that they are the most appropriate professionals to design/deliver HPV education for 15-17 year old students. National policy change, based on collaboration between the Public Health Agency and Education Authority, is a key factor in facilitating IMNs to implement this school-based HPV education intervention.

Patients' experiences of engaging with electronic Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) after the completion of radiation therapy for breast cancer: a pilot service evaluation.

INTRODUCTION: Over 60 % of people who develop breast cancer will receive radiation therapy (RT) as part of their treatment. Side effects of RT may include inflammation, erythema, desquamation and fatigue. Electronic Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (ePROMs) enable patients to report side effects prior to their scheduled post-RT appointment. This pilot service evaluation aims to explore patients' perceptions regarding the value of the ePROM system, ease of its use and barriers to using the system, after breast irradiation. METHODS: From July-November 2021, evaluation surveys were posted to 100 people who had received RT to their breast to explore their experience of using the ePROM. Ethical approval was obtained through Ulster University and the Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT), Northern Ireland. RESULTS: Fifty-two people responded to the survey, of which 27 respondents indicated that they had accessed the ePROM. Despite few participants experiencing significant side effects, the majority of participants recommended the ePROM indicating that it was an important source of support. Those who experienced significant side effects found the system to be prompt and effective. Barriers to accessing the ePROM included technical issues with the link, concerns about confidentiality and forgetting to access the link. Access to the ePROM increased with higher education levels. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot service evaluation demonstrated that ePROMs are valued by patients and can provide rapid real-time access to support, offering individual care and reassurance. For patients with longer RT schedules (>10 fractions), the introduction of ePROMs during RT was viewed favourably by participants. All patients may benefit from the option of receiving ePROMs post-RT.

Impact of school-based educational interventions in middle adolescent populations (15-17yrs) on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake and perceptions/knowledge of HPV and its associated cancers: A systematic review.

The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) divides adolescence into early (12-14 years), middle (15-17 years), and late (18-21 years) stages. School-based HPV educational interventions are largely directed at parents of early adolescents at the time of vaccination. As the average age of first sexual intercourse in high income countries is 15-17 years old, a second educational intervention for middle adolescents could have a strong impact on HPV prevention, providing an opportunity for self-consenting to HPV vaccination in many countries. This paper appraises literature exploring the impact of school-based educational interventions in 15-17 year olds, on HPV vaccination uptake and/or perceptions/knowledge of HPV and its associated cancers. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental designs (QEDs) (2007-2019) were included if they delivered a school-based educational intervention for 15-17 year olds, and the outcome measures included HPV vaccination uptake, knowledge of HPV and associated cancers or perception/attitude regarding self-protection against HPV. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for quality using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. All studies demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in at least one major outcome measure post-intervention, despite the wide range in design of interventions, though only three studies actually measured changes to HPV vaccination uptake. Stakeholder engagement was absent in most intervention designs and many were not grounded in evidenced theory. Content was largely focused on female cervical cancer, rarely discussing oropharyngeal cancer, the most pre-dominant HPV-associated cancer in men. An optimal mixed gender intervention remains to be established for middle adolescents.