Culture & End-of-Life Care: An E-learning Course

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The climate is changing for end-of-life care. The NIH has sponsored major initiatives for research and education to “guarantee the quality of care provided to the dying individual and their surviving loved ones” (NIH State-of-the-Science Conference, 2004). Recent efforts aimed at improving care have emphasized the quality and depth of communication within the community of clinicians, patients, families and caregivers, improving prognostication and practitioner education, and building continuity of care through collaboration. Understanding patient and family perspectives on quality of life and satisfaction with care are critical to improving the quality of end-of-life care (NIH State-of-the-Science Conference, 2004). Methods Culture & End-of-Life Care is a web-based course that integrates instruction in cultural issues and end-of-life care for primary care providers. The course employs 11 interactive case studies to teach a process-based approach to cross-cultural communication that does not rely on prior knowledge of the patient's culture and discourages cultural stereotyping. The media-rich and highly interactive environment is designed to promote cognitive engagement and self-assessment. The 11 case studies can stand alone or be used as an integrated course. Results In a randomized trial with practicing physicians, the course was enthusiastically received and associated with increases in knowledge and self-reported cultural competence skills at 9-week follow-up. It is an accepted and popular CME vehicle offered by the University of Arizona. The Phase I course has been adopted for training medical students at Tufts University. Discussion Culture & End-of-Life Care fills a gap in training for cultural competence and end-of-life care.

Keywords

• Palliative Care
• Cultural Competency
• Hospice Care
• Terminal Care
• End of Life Care
• Distance Learning