End-of-Life Online Health Education Uptake and Usage by Australian Health Professionals: Urban, Rural and Remote Settings

Abstract

This work is copyrighted. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for research or training purposes, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. It may not be reproduced for commercial use or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above requires written permission from the Flinders University Research Centre for Palliative Care, Death & Dying. Contact [email protected] for permissions.Access to skilled end-of-life care is particularly important for those who live in rural and remote areas in Australia given the high levels of chronic disease and higher mortality rates. However, health professionals in rural and remote areas do not always receive adequate training to provide this care due to lack of accessible education. End-of-Life Essentials (EOLE) is a government funded education project which aims to provide free peer-reviewed online education modules and implementation resources on end-of-life care to health professionals in acute hospitals in Australia. In order to understand the uptake and usage of the EOLE education modules, learners’ geographical locations and module completion data from the first year of the program were analysed according to remoteness category. This White Paper outlines and explores the results of the retrospective data analysis conducted in June 2018. Data from learners who registered in the first year of the EOLE program was were extracted, and 4224 learners were included for data analysis. Study findings show that there is a good reach of EOLE to health professionals living in remote and very remote areas. As learners from very remote areas showed the highest proportion of module completion, it suggests the potential benefit of this important online education in providing accessible continuing end-of-life care education for health professionals residing in the most remote parts of Australia