E-Counseling in Psychosocial Cancer Care: A Survey of Practice,Attitudes,and Training Among Providers

Abstract

Objective: In the cancer setting, e-counseling interventions may be uniquely beneficial as they spare patients the cost and burden of traveling to a hospital or clinic for psychosocial care. However, the prevalence of e-counseling among psychosocial cancer care providers is unknown, as are the training needs with regard to e-counseling among this group of professionals. Thus, our group conducted an online professional training needs assessment with psychosocial cancer care providers. Subjects and Methods: Participants (n=120) were recruited from the listservs of the Health Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Behavioral Medicine—Cancer Special Interest Group, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, and the Association of Oncology Social Work. All completed a 14-item online survey. Results: Although 84% of participants stated that e-counseling could be important to their clinical work with cancer patients and survivors, 88% reported that they did not have the skills to effectively conduct e-counseling, and 81% reported that there were no adequate e-counseling educational opportunities. When asked about future training opportunities, participants reported a preference for online training versus live training (p<0.001). Conclusions: Overall, the results highlight the need for online training programs in e-counseling for psychosocial cancer care providers. The training of psychosocial cancer care providers in e-counseling is a critical first step towards increasing implementation of e-counseling interventions and using the Internet to deliver effective interventions to cancer patients in need.