Laryngectomy Education and Training Resources: An Environmental Scan of Resources

Abstract

In many settings, head and neck cancer (HNC) services are centralized in large hospitals, meaning that community input from HNC specialists can be lacking. Community healthcare professionals often require laryngectomy-specific education and training to provide optimal care to people at home. However, laryngectomy-specific education/training is often sporadic and varies between centres, making it difficult to achieve standardisation in healthcare professionals’ laryngectomy knowledge and skills. This study aimed to identify and critically review existing laryngectomy education/training resources for healthcare professionals, which include elements applicable to community care. We used environmental scanning to systematically and comprehensively identify and examine all available education/training resources which had an element of education and/or training applicable to community laryngectomy care. Eligible resources were reviewed for training-specific details, laryngectomy-specific details, evaluation method, accessibility, and patient and public involvement (PPI). A total of 6655 resources were screened; 49 were eligible for data extraction. There was wide variability in the level of laryngectomy-specific content in the resources. PPI in development was lacking, and data detailing the impact of resources on healthcare professionals’ knowledge/skills and patient outcomes was sparse. This is the first study to systematically identify and appraise laryngectomy education/training resources which have applicability to community care. There is not one consistent approach to education/training development method, content, delivery, or evaluation, likely rendering these ineffective and lacking impact. Community-specific laryngectomy education and training, with clear implementation and evaluation, is required.

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