Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

Evaluation of an online training module to address fear of cancer recurrence in clinical practice (146270)

Verena Wu 1 2 , Fiona Crawford-Williams 3 4 , Olivia Cook 5 6 , Jia (Jenny) Liu 7 8 9 , Maria Ftanou 10 11 , Shannon Philp 12 13 , Natalie Taylor 14 , Michael David 1 15 , Iman Zakhary 16 , Lorraine Tutton 17 , Ben Smith 1 2
  1. The Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney, and Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  2. South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, UNSW Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Caring Futures Institute, Bedford Park, SA, Australia
  4. McGrath Foundation, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. Monash Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  6. Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre, Bayside Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  7. Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  8. Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  9. Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  10. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  11. Department of Psychology, Psychosocial Oncology Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  12. Department of Gynaecologic Oncology, Chris O'Brien Lifehouse, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  13. Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  14. Implementation to Impact (i2i), School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  15. School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
  16. Multicultural Services, Liverpool Hospital, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  17. First Nations Cancer & Wellbeing Research Program, School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Aims: A Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR) Clinical Pathway provides a structured approach for health professionals to identify, assess, and manage FCR in practice; however, health professionals have identified lack of training as a barrier to pathway implementation. This pilot study evaluated the acceptability of an online FCR training module and its impact on health professionals’ knowledge, confidence, as well as identifying barriers to delivering FCR care.

Methods: A pre-post design was used to evaluate the training. Australian health professionals working in adult cancer care were recruited through peak bodies and community organisations. Participants completed online questionnaires at three time-points: pre-training (T0), immediately post-training (T1), and three-months post-training (T2). Outcomes included knowledge and confidence addressing FCR, implementation feasibility, and post-training acceptability. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively and using linear regression models. Qualitative data were inductively analysed using content analysis.

Results: In total, 91 health professionals (97% female, 71% nurses) completed the T0 questionnaire, 67 completed the training, 61 completed T1, and 52 completed T2. Compared with T0, participants demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge (MD=4.09/35, p<0.01), confidence (MD=1.12/4, p<0.01), and pathway implementation feasibility (MD=0.40/4, p<0.01) at T1, which remained significantly higher at T2. Post-training acceptability (n=60) was high (mean 4.6/5, SD=0.5). Barriers to implementing training recommendations included limited specialist psychology services (82%) and culturally appropriate interventions (76%).

Conclusions: The online training module was acceptable and improved participants’ knowledge and confidence post‑training. Improving health professionals’ ability to identify and respond to FCR may enhance access to timely, evidence-based psychosocial support. The finalised training is now publicly available via EviQ Education. Further evaluation of the impact of the training on practice is needed, alongside strategies to support the implementation and maintenance of the FCR clinical pathway in routine clinical care.