Building capacity for palliative care delivery in primary care settings: Mixed-methods evaluation of the INTEGRATE Project.

Objective: To evaluate an intervention aimed at building capacity to deliver palliative care in primary care settings.

Design: The INTEGRATE Project was a 3-year pilot project involving interprofessional palliative care education and an integrated care model to promote early identification and support of patients with palliative care needs. A concurrent mixed-methods evaluation was conducted using descriptive data, provider surveys before and after implementation, and interviews with providers and managers.

Keeping Up with the Hybrid Magnetic Resonance Linear Accelerators: How Do Radiation Therapists Stay Current in the Era of Hybrid Technologies?

The benefits of integrating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) into radiotherapy planning have long been extolled, first appearing in the literature as early as 1986. Most often described as a tool to be used when registered to a planning computed tomography to improve target and organ at risk delineation, the use of MRI for on-board image guidance and as a sole imaging modality throughout the entire radiotherapy pathway is quickly becoming a reality for appropriately selected patient populations in academic centres throughout the world. With the commercialization of these integrated magnetic resonance - radiotherapy delivery systems, an MRI-only workflow will prove beneficial, with MRI being used for treatment planning, localization, and on-treatment plan adaptation.

Access to care and outcomes for neuroendocrine tumours: does socioeconomic status matter?

Introduction: Neuroendocrine tumours (nets) are a poorly understood malignancy lacking standardized care. Differences in socioeconomic status (ses) might worsen the effect of non-standardized care. We examined the effect of ses on net peri-diagnostic care patterns and outcomes.

A Culture of Safety? An International Comparison of Radiation Therapists' Error Reporting.

Background: The process of radiation therapy planning and delivery is increasing in complexity, and errors that occur can have serious repercussions for patients. Many radiation therapy departments use incident learning systems (ILSs) to report, analyze, and learn from errors. The success of an ILS relies on a nonpunitive workplace culture in which practitioners are comfortable reporting errors.

Bortezomib in multiple myeloma: systematic review and clinical considerations.

We conducted a systematic review to determine the appropriate use of bortezomib alone or in combination with other agents in patients with multiple myeloma (mm). We searched medline, embase, the Cochrane Library, conference proceedings, and the reference lists of included studies. We analyzed randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews if they involved adult mm patients treated with bortezomib and if they reported on survival, disease control, response, quality of life, or adverse effects.

Uncertainty in measurements of ¹⁸F blood concentration and its effect on simplified dynamic PET analysis.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy and practicality of well counter- and thyroid probe-based methods, commonly available in nuclear medicine facilities, for measuring the concentration of (18)F-FDG in blood samples. The degree to which the accuracy of such methods influences quantitative analysis of dynamic PET scans was also assessed.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with cancer of the head and neck underwent dynamic PET imaging as part of a study intended to evaluate the utility of quantitative, image-based metrics for assessment of early treatment response.

Region-Based Partial Volume Correction Techniques for PET Imaging: Sinogram Implementation and Robustness.

Background/Purpose. Limited spatial resolution of positron emission tomography (PET) requires partial volume correction (PVC). Region-based PVC methods are based on geometric transfer matrix implemented either in image-space (GTM) or sinogram-space (GTMo), both with similar performance.

Bortezomib in multiple myeloma: a practice guideline.

Aims: Bortezomib (Velcade™, PS-341), a first-in-class proteasome inhibitor, has been extensively studied either alone or in combination with other agents for the treatment of multiple myeloma. We created a provincial guideline for the use of bortezomib, in newly diagnosed individuals (both eligible and ineligible for transplant) and in individuals with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Materials And Methods: A systematic review was conducted searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and relevant meeting abstracts.

Symmetric geometric transfer matrix partial volume correction for PET imaging: principle, validation and robustness.

Limited spatial resolution of positron emission tomography (PET) often requires partial volume correction (PVC) to improve the accuracy of quantitative PET studies. Conventional region-based PVC methods use co-registered high resolution anatomical images (e.g.

A Pilot Study Evaluating the Usability and Usefulness of a Multi-language Online Patient Education Tool for Patients Undergoing Radiation Treatment: Findings from a Student Project.

Purpose: Treatment-related information is the most important informational need of cancer patients and online media sources are gaining popularity as a cancer communication method. Our aim was to determine if new multilanguage patient online education modules in radiation therapy are usable and beneficial for the multicultural cancer patient population who may face language barriers.

Methods: Eight new patients from the radiation oncology clinic at the Odette Cancer Centre (OCC) were recruited to participate in the study over a 3-month period.

Learning is in the facilitation: faculty perspectives with facilitated teaching and learning-recommendations from informal discussions.

Small group learning is an interactive activity that requires a skilled teacher with the ability to facilitate and debrief. Approximately 250 students from seven health professions were enrolled in a first year interprofessional education course that focused on the importance of communication and collaboration. Weekly faculty debrief sessions were conducted and were utilized to share the teachers perspectives with facilitative teaching as well as for feedback and improvement strategies.

Teaching Collaboration: A Retrospective Look at Incorporating Teamwork into an Interprofessional Curriculum.

Introduction: At the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, an interprofessional education (IPE) curriculum has been integrated into all health professional programs. A significant component of the introductory course in this IPE curriculum is on teamwork.

Objective: Our aim is to share the experiential strategies that we integrated into our didactic curriculum to demonstrate the importance of teams and their value to the future collaboration in clinical practice for our students.