Sample
CIM, cancer
CANCER, LITTLE
A total of 48 oncology physicians (50% who specialize in gynecologic oncology) from hospital departments or private practices in Germany were included in the study. All potential participants needed to have a specialization in the field of oncology and were screened in advance in a telephone interview conducted by one of the authors. If they answered the following questions with yes, they were included: little knowledge of CIM, no previous structured trainings in the use of CIM in the field of oncology, little experience in advising cancer patients on CIM, sufficient resources to conduct consultations with cancer patients. Little knowledge of CIM was operationalized as exceeding basic knowledge that was taught during standard medical training. Little experience in advising cancer patients on CIM was operationalized as actively providing information on CIM to oncology patients. In addition, it was required that oncology physicians have sufficient resources to conduct consultations with cancer patients, were able to attend the workshop, and have good German language skills. After completing the training (intervention or delayed intervention for control oncology physicians), the participants received 34 Continuing Medical Education (CME) points from the German Doctors Association.All the participating oncology physicians completed written informed consent forms and were told that they could withdraw from the intervention at any time during the study.Hospital departments or private practices served as clusters. From each hospital department, two oncologists had to be eligible and served as one cluster. Randomization of clusters was stratified by type of center (hospital department or practice) and specialization (gynecology, other type of oncology) using an allocation ratio of 1:1. The randomization was performed by personal not otherwise involved in implementation of the study or analysis. After randomization, one oncology physician specializing in gynecologic oncology working in a hospital department was not able to participate in the study for personal reasons.