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The incidence of thyroid cancer continues to increase worldwide. The challenge facing the treatment of thyroid cancers is related to the fact that this disease exhibits a broad range of clinical behaviour from indolent tumour to very aggressive malignancies. Therefore, the public and patient education about thyroid cancer are becoming a crucial step in facing the challenge imposed by this cancer. Currently, social media channels such as YouTube, a video-sharing website on the Internet, play a significant role in public and patient education. Research on the part of YouTube in public education about cancer is on the rise, including a paper on thyroid cancer published recently in the Journal of Cancer Education. However, researchers conducting studies should use tools that are designed to assess videos, not written information or websites. DISCERN instrument and JAMA benchmark tools are not intended to evaluate videos such as those of YouTube. An ideal instrument for assessing YouTube should cover several parameters to identify educationally useful videos, including (i) scientific accuracy of video content, (ii) clarity of the massage given, (iii) authority (creator), (iv) pedagogy and educational basis and (v) technical design, including quality images and good visuals, production style, quality scripts, clear sounds and no noises in the background. While video images help in reinforcing the words and the message, both picture and sound quality are vital in creating a strong mental impression and engaging the audience. This commentary calls for the development of a standardised protocol that can help researchers to enhance their research publications and ensure that adequate and accurate data have been collected and analysed. Such a move will help us in establishing the right literature in this area and will help researchers conducting reviews and meta-analysis on YouTube videos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strengthening communication between providers and patients, especially those with cognitive impairment, is required given care complexity and fragmentation across the care continuum. Therefore, determining patient perceptions about the Siebens Health Care Notebook (SHCN), a tool to support self-management and strengthen communication and care continuity, is fundamental to understanding SHCN usability. Participants were breast cancer survivors in a study evaluating a 6-week cognitive rehabilitation program, who reported cancer-related cognitive impairment (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function–Perceived Cognitive Impairment (PCI) subscale < 59). Participant groups were alternately assigned to receive the SHCN (intervention) or not (control). SHCN recipients completed a 3-item qualitative perception survey at program completion. Both groups were surveyed at baseline, program completion, and 4 weeks later about communication with physicians. Scores were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. No baseline demographic or PCI score differences occurred between intervention (n = 29) and control (n = 16) groups. Of 22 (76%) who completed the SHCN perception survey, 100% endorsed it as useful in tracking health information, as helpful, and would recommend it to others. No group differences in communication activities with physicians were demonstrated. Women reporting cognitive impairment after breast cancer treatment perceived the SHCN as a beneficial self-care tool and would suggest it to others. Communication activities with physicians did not change during the study's short duration. Future research is needed to evaluate SHCN features contributing to helpfulness and details on use, including two-way communication activities between patients and physicians, across the care continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer survivors have specific healthcare needs. As a result of their disease and treatment, they have to adapt to different physical and psychosocial late effects. Unfortunately, several studies have documented insufficiency in the survivorship healthcare system. The aim of this paper was to describe the process of development and testing of a novel Cancer Self-management Education programme (CSME programme) to improve patient-reported self-management and self-efficacy for patients with breast cancer who were at the end of primary treatment. The development of the educational programme was inspired by the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) circle and based on person-centred principles. It was conducted at a Danish university hospital. Nine oncology healthcare providers, two external experts in patient education and five patients were involved in the development and testing of the education programme. Implementation of dialogue-based tools was used as an educational learning instrument in the SCME programme. The PDSA approach to the development of the CSME programme resulted in a person-centred programme that could improve self-management and self-efficacy in the survivorship phase of patients with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 2000 and 2011, over 170 second-year medical students participated in a Determinants of Community Health (DOCH 2) project at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH). Students undertook community-based research projects at the hospital or with PMH community partners involving activities such as producing a literature review, writing a research proposal, obtaining ethics approval, carrying out data collection and analysis, presenting their data to classmates and supervisors, and production of a final report. An electronic survey consisting of both quantitative and qualitative questions was developed to evaluate the PMH-DOCH 2 program and was distributed to 144 past students with known email addresses. Fifty-eight students responded, a response rate of 40.3%. Data analysis indicates that an increase in oncology knowledge, awareness of the impact of determinants of health on patients, and knowledge of research procedures increased participants' satisfaction and ability to conduct research following DOCH 2. Furthermore, the PMH-DOCH 2 program enhanced the development of CanMEDS competencies through career exploration and patient interaction as well as through shadowing physicians and other allied health professionals. In addition, some students felt their PMH-DOCH 2 projects played a beneficial role during their residency matching process. The PMH-DOCH 2 research program appeared to provide a positive experience for most participants and opportunities for medical students' professional growth and development outside the confines of traditional lecture-based courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-management in chronic disease has been shown to improve patient-reported and health care-related outcomes. However, relatively little information about its utility in cancer survivorship is known. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of the delivery of an adaptation of the evidence-based Chronic Disease Self-management Program (Stanford) called Cancer Thriving and Surviving (CTS). Triangulated mixed methods were used to capture baseline characteristics and post-program experiences using a combination of closed- and open-ended survey items; emergent coding and simple descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Twenty-seven workshops were delivered by 22 CTS leaders to 244 participants between August 2011 and January 2013 in a variety of settings (48 % community, 30 % health care, 22 % regional/community cancer center). Representing a variety of cancer types, about half the participants were 1-3 years post-diagnosis and 45 % were 4 or more years from diagnosis. Program attendance was high with 84 % of participants attending four or more of the six sessions in the workshop. Overall, 95 % of the participants were satisfied with the program content and leaders, and would recommend the program to friends and family. These results confirm the feasibility and acceptability of delivery of a high-fidelity, peer-led model for self-management support for cancer survivors. Expansion of the CTS represents a powerful tool toward improving health-related outcomes in this at-risk population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]