Pre-conference workshops Information
Tuesday 24 September
Workshops round 1: 09:00 - 10:30
Workshop 1: AYA Cancer Care: Insights from Flanders and the Netherlands
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
This workshop is for all healthcare professionals (clinicians, nurses, paramedics) working with AYA cancer patients. The first part is especially interesting for those who treat patients who lack curative intent. The second part is about communication with all kind of AYA patients.
What can participants expect to learn?
Participants will gain insight in who AYA cancer patients are and what defines them. We will report on the organization of AYA-care in The Netherlands and in Belgium. In the first part we will focus on research that is conducted among AYA cancer patients dealing with an uncertain or poor cancer prognosis. This will include information on their daily life challenges, healthcare experiences and communication with these patients. In the second part we will focus on communication with all AYA’s and present some tools.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
TBD. However, most likely it will be a combination of a lecture and assignments in subgroups
Workshop 2: Embracing Acceptance in Cancer Survivorship
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Practitioners in cancer survivorship care (nurses, psychologists, physicians, mental health experts, social workers).
What can participants expect to learn?
o Summarize evidence and theories on acceptance in cancer survivorship care.
o Empathize with survivors’ experiences in accepting cancer and its outcomes.
o Practice acceptance-related techniques, specifically for fear of cancer recurrence.
o Learn educational strategies for managing persistent pain in survivors.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No specific pre-existing knowledge or skills required. Professional experience in cancer survivorship care is beneficial for contributing to discussions.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
Includes lectures, experience-based exercises, and discussions. Led by diverse trainers to cater to varied attendee backgrounds and experiences, encouraging active participation
Workshop 3: Sexual rehabilitation intervention for women after cancer
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
(Clinical or medical) psychologists, physicians (such as MDs and nurse practitioners), and social workers who are interested in addressing sexuality with oncology patients and gaining knowledge of interventions for women with sexual problems caused by cancer and/or its treatment. The focus of sexual rehabilitation interventions within this workshop is based on the first three stages of the PLISSIT model of sex therapy: Permission, Limited Information, and Specific Suggestions.
What can participants expect to learn?
The workshop will focus on three pillars: Attitude (awareness of one's own feelings and opinions regarding sexual topics), Skills (acquiring a vocabulary and tools to address and discuss sexuality with oncology patients), and Knowledge (providing a theoretical sexology framework with minimal sexual rehabilitation interventions), collectively ‘ASK’. The sexual rehabilitation interventions will focus on psychoeducation and cognitive-behavioural therapy. This framework is based on our specially developed nurse-led sexual rehabilitation intervention for women treated with radiotherapy for gynaecological cancer (SPARC study).
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
Basic knowledge regarding gynaecological cancer and its treatment is helpful, but not a requirement.
How are you going to present/work with the group?
The workshop is interactive in nature.
Workshop 4: Facilitating Bereavement Support Groups: Practical training for group leaders.
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
The workshop is for clinicians (psychologist, social workers, counselors etc) who work in bereavement and are interested to learn about facilitating bereavement support groups for recently bereaved individuals.
What can participants expect to learn?
Participants will learn the fundamentals of facilitating bereavement groups. An example of a group curriculum will be outlined, drawing on the cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) model. Practical exercises and strategies to use in bereavement groups will also be reviewed.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
The workshop is for clinicians who are interested in supporting bereaved family members. Some grief basic counseling knowledge and experience with individual or group work is preferred.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
The workshop will include a PowerPoint presentation with Q &A, group discussion, case examples and practical exercises that can be used in bereavement group programs.
Workshops round 2: 11:00 - 12:30
Workshop 1: AYA Cancer Care: Insights from Flanders and the Netherlands
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
This workshop is for all healthcare professionals (clinicians, nurses, paramedics) working with AYA cancer patients. The first part is especially interesting for those who treat patients who lack curative intent. The second part is about communication with all kind of AYA patients.
What can participants expect to learn?
Participants will gain insight in who AYA cancer patients are and what defines them. We will report on the organization of AYA-care in The Netherlands and in Belgium. In the first part we will focus on research that is conducted among AYA cancer patients dealing with an uncertain or poor cancer prognosis. This will include information on their daily life challenges, healthcare experiences and communication with these patients. In the second part we will focus on communication with all AYA’s and present some tools.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
TBD. However, most likely it will be a combination of a lecture and assignments in subgroups
Workshop 2: Enhancing Relationship Resilience: Hold Me Tight training for Couples Coping with Cancer
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
For all oncology professionals
What can participants expect to learn?
This workshop will provide participants with an experiential understanding of the unique challenges faced by couples dealing with cancer. In addition we will give a taste of how the Hold Me Tight training can make a valuable contribution to the paramedical treatment of cancer patients, by engaging their most important emotional resource - their partner. We believe that by integrating this attachment view into their practice, oncology professionals can provide a more holistic and effective support to couples coping with cancer.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No prior knowledge required
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
Lecture with stories, videoclip(s) and experiential exercises.
Workshop 3: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Beginners and Intermediate Clinicians. Helping cancer patients deal with uncertainty and finding meaning.
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
The Workshop is intended for beginners and intermediate clinicians.
What can participants expect to learn?
- Learn core components of ACT;
- Participants will be able to lead patients through an experiential exercise.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
Knowledge regarding ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is prefferred but not mandatory.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
The Workshop will have two parts: lecture with Q&A and skills training.
Workshop 4: Bereavement among Professional Caregivers after Patient Deaths: Conceptualization, Assessment, Empirical Findings, and Support Advice
Intended Audience
The workshop is intended for managers of healthcare institutions, frontline healthcare professionals who have experienced patient deaths, and researchers interested in the topic.
Learning Objectives
Participants can expect to learn: The concept of professional bereavement and the nature of the experience; How to use the Professional Bereavement Scale for assessment and identify risk factors for more intense experiences; Measures institutions can take to support staff in professional bereavement and self-care strategies for staff members.
Preferred Knowledge or Skills
No specific knowledge or skills are required for participation.
Presentation Format
The workshop will be presented in a lecture format with a Q&A session.
Workshops round 3: 13:30 - 15:00
Workshop 1: Mindfulness as a coping strategy for cancer survivors
The workshop aims to elucidate the efficacy of Mindfulness as a coping strategy to reduce stress and promote emotional wellbeing in cancer survivors. This interactive experience presents the scientific mindfulness base, exploring its benefits, key characteristics, and evidence-based results. Additionally, attendees will engage in mindfulness practices such as mindful breathing, meditation, and gratitude exercises, aimed at fostering body-emotional awareness, self-compassion, and loving-kindness.
Furthermore, this workshop will showcase the tangible benefits of Mindfulness through firsthand accounts from participants in the "Spanish Wellbeing Program" conducted at the Canopy Survivorship Center in the Woodlands, United States. The program's outcomes include satisfaction and peace, reduction of anxiety and sadness, improvement of personal wellbeing, positive self-identification, an optimistic perspective, and feelings of confidence.
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Clinicians, Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health providers, and Psychiatrists
What can participants expect to learn?
- The participant shall be able to analyze the benefits and efficacy of Mindfulness for cancer survivors.
- The participant shall be able to identify mindfulness-evident exercises to increase cancer survivor body-emotional awareness, self-compassion, and lovingkindness.
- The participant shall be able to practice at least three exercises to promote their wellbeing as social-health professionals.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No previous skills or knowledge is required.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
Team exercises, examples case, inter/intrapersonal activities, mindfulness practices such as mindful breathing, meditation, and gratitude exercises.
Workshop 2: Delivering Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Cancer Survivors Via Telehealth
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
This 1.5 hour interactive workshop is designed for providers who have a working knowledge of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and are looking to advance their clinical practice with new tools developed from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes et al., 2021), an evidence-based psychotherapy.
What can participants expect to learn?
Attendees can expect to learn the basic theories and fundamentals of ACT and its appropriateness for cancer survivorship issues. Additionally, the instructors will model the delivery of certain ACT techniques. These techniques include: 1) describing ACT metaphors, 2) implementing values driven actions and 3) teaching the most effective brief mindfulness and meditation exercises via telehealth. This workshop will incorporate unique cultural considerations when working with a diverse cancer survivor population. Participants will also receive a list of online resources and references to further support their practice of ACT interventions. By the conclusion of this workshop, attendees will feel equipped to effectively implement ACT techniques to help survivors increase their awareness and acceptance of thoughts and emotions and increase mental flexibility through values committed actions.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?It is preferable for participants to have had some clinical exposure to cancer survivors but are now looking to implement effective ACT techniques as part of their skill set during these encounters.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
We will be presenting our work via lecture with Q&A, skills training, and observational role plays.
Workshop 3: Providing psychosocial care to families with young children (<18 years) facing parental cancer
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Health care professionals working with families and minor children (<18 years) who are facing parental cancer.
What can participants expect to learn?
- How children understand and react to a parental cancer diagnosis in different developmental- and illness stages
- Knowledge about a stepped-care model of psychosocial care for families and interventions for these families.
- Participants will learn to communicate with children and families, both verbally and non-verbally.
- How to support families during disruptive times
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No specific knowledge or skills are required, but we expect that participants have had a certain amount of experience in working with families facing parental cancer.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
A combination of lecture with Q&A, skills training and working in subgroups
Workshop 4: Empowering Cancer Patients with the Untire Now App for Beating Cancer-Related Fatigue
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Since the IPOS is primarily aimed at health care providers and researchers, we will focus our workshop on them.
What can participants expect to learn?
At the end of the workshop, attendees will have up-to-date information on cancer-related fatigue and available interventions. Besides general information about these interventions, we will specifically discuss the Untire Now application, a proven effective DTx against CRF. We will explain it and present scientific outcomes. We will likely also talk a bit about the organization and financing of digital care in different countries in Europe.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
It will be a combination of a lecture with pro-active (digital) interaction with the participants.
Workshops round 4: 15:30 - 17:00
Workshop 1: Mindfulness as a coping strategy for cancer survivors
The workshop aims to elucidate the efficacy of Mindfulness as a coping strategy to reduce stress and promote emotional wellbeing in cancer survivors. This interactive experience presents the scientific mindfulness base, exploring its benefits, key characteristics, and evidence-based results. Additionally, attendees will engage in mindfulness practices such as mindful breathing, meditation, and gratitude exercises, aimed at fostering body-emotional awareness, self-compassion, and loving-kindness.
Furthermore, this workshop will showcase the tangible benefits of Mindfulness through firsthand accounts from participants in the "Spanish Wellbeing Program" conducted at the Canopy Survivorship Center in the Woodlands, United States. The program's outcomes include satisfaction and peace, reduction of anxiety and sadness, improvement of personal wellbeing, positive self-identification, an optimistic perspective, and feelings of confidence.
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Clinicians, Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health providers, and Psychiatrists
What can participants expect to learn?
- The participant shall be able to analyze the benefits and efficacy of Mindfulness for cancer survivors.
- The participant shall be able to identify mindfulness-evident exercises to increase cancer survivor body-emotional awareness, self-compassion, and lovingkindness.
- The participant shall be able to practice at least three exercises to promote their wellbeing as social-health professionals.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
No previous skills or knowledge is required.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
Team exercises, examples case, inter/intrapersonal activities, mindfulness practices such as mindful breathing, meditation, and gratitude exercises.
Workshop 2: Empowering Cancer Survivors Across the Life Span: Integrating Pain Science Education for Children Living Beyond Cancer
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Researchers and clinicians interested in non-pharmacological pain management for cancer survivors across the lifespan.
What can participants expect to learn?
Adult cancer survivors:
- Insights into the prevalence and nature of pain in adult cancer survivors.
- A 7-step diagnostic approach to differentiate between predominant pain phenotypes in cancer. Survivors published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia Pain science education (PSE) and its potential in cancer survivors.
- The importance of perceived injustice and how to account for it in PSE, based on our randomized controlled trial exploring perceived injustice-targeted PSE.
- Insights into the impact of different lifestyle factors on pain in cancer survivors.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and behavioral graded activity (BGA), based on our randomized controlled trial exploring PSE with BGA.
Pediatric cancer survivors:
- Insights in the prevalence and nature of pain in children living beyond cancer.
- Principles of PSE in pediatric patients
- Insights in our ongoing study on the co-creation of a PSE intervention for children living beyond cancer and subsequent pilot trial.
- Facilitation of discussions and knowledge sharing among clinicians and researchers, fostering collaboration and advancements in pain management strategies for children living beyond cancer.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
Basic knowledge on pain phenotypes/mechanisms (i.e., nociceptive pain, neuropathic pain, nociplastic pain).
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
Lecture with Q&A, including discussion of cases.
Workshop 3: Beyond Simple Language Translation: Strategies for Adapting and Implementing Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions (EBPIs) for Diverse Cancer Survivors
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
Researchers and practitioners who are interested in adapting empirically supported interventions to effectively improve patient engagement, intervention uptake, and psychosocial health outcomes among culturally diverse groups, including those residing in settings not included or considered in the EBPI’s original development.
What can participants expect to learn?
- Describe and recognize why simple translation is insufficient to meaningfully adapt evidence-based interventions for diverse cancer survivors.
- Differentiate between surface and deep structure adaptation models.
- Identify the participatory, qualitative, and systematic approaches that can be used to meaningfully inform the adaptation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
NA
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
Lecture with interactive discussion and activities.
Workshop 4: A showcase of world class Cancer Wellbeing Centres: insights into the experiences and key learnings to successfully enhance patient experience and cancer outcomes
For whom is the Workshop intended/interesting?
This workshop is for any staff working in supportive oncology care. It is targeted at cancer service executives and policy makers, as well as key funding stakeholders. It also caters for healthcare workers involved in the delivery of Cancer Wellbeing programs and clinicians who refer patients to their supportive care services It will be beneficial for those that are considering the development of programs and services specifically focused on introducing wellbeing and integrative oncology programs within a health service.
What can participants expect to learn?
This session has the purpose to provide participants with a toolbox of strategies and considerations they can incorporate into implementing their own tailored Cancer Wellbeing Centre to improve patient experience and outcomes.
Are certain knowledge or skills preferred when people want to participate?
This workshop will cater to all levels of knowledge and skill in supportive care program development. It may also be of interest to consumers with a lived experience of cancer who are partnering with their health care institutions to deliver integrative oncology and wellbeing services. The workshop will be conducted with the presumption of limited experience and will provide examples of differing models of care and what critical success factors are required to enable growth of these services.
How are you going to present/work with the group? (lecture with Q&A; skills training, working in subgroups and making assignments, and/or ....).
An overview of Australia and the United Kingdom cancer wellbeing environment will be provided. The workshop will be a participatory session where the presenters will present their models of care and identify barriers and enablers of care and provide the audience with learnings from the field. The workshop will include consumer perspectives and what a consumer identifies as important learnings and opportunities. A Q& A session will be held post presentations from each speaker. The workshop
will also provide some resources that will be used to demonstrate & build on success. The workshop will also provide participants with a community of practice that can enable information sharing and support in service development.