Patient & Public Education Service – Internal Survey

Hello members of the AHNS Patient & Public Education Service!

At our first meeting for 2022, we discussed several tasks for the year including continuing the creation of patient education web content as well as a group of small internal task forces within the service. Please review the information below and complete the questions at the bottom of the page. We look forward to a productive year!

QUESTION 1: Service Members Interests: We would like to compile a list of our service members’ subspecialty interests and their willingness

QUESTION 2: Task Forces within the Service: The Service will put together 4 task forces to work on P&PE goals for the coming year. Service members will be asked to sign up for one of these task forces as a part of their service in the group:

• AHNS website task force – Regularly review the patient & public education content published on the AHNS website for the purpose of 1) making sure existing information is up to date and 2) alerting the Service chairs of any material that needs revision, deletion, etc. Ideally this task force would contain members from each of the 6 AHNS sections.
• Scholarly output task force – Patient related scholarly output for the annual meeting – solicit two scientific program chairs for PP&E to ensure quality content to the annual meeting; Joint submissions with other services preferred.
• Membership chair task force – Solicit more members for P&PE and promote the work we do. While Service members must be appointed to serve on all AHNS committees, this task force would regularly solicit recommendations for potential new members each year, and contact those potential members, urging them to nominate for this Service during the annual nomination period. Additionally , the members of this task force would work with Committee Staff Liaison JJ Jackman to author blog posts and brief newsletter articles announcing new content.
• Engagement/Outreach task force – Liaisons who can contact cancer survivor groups outside AHNS who are already producing education events and content, as well as get their input/review of our website content – ThyCa, HNCA, SPOHNC, American Cancer Society, and the International Association of Laryngectomies are examples – as well as improve P&PE’s collaboration with other AHNS Services – examples are the Endocrine Section and the Survivorship, Supportive Care & Rehabilitation Service (SSC&R).

QUESTION 3: Collaboration with the HNCA

The Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, in partnership with the American Head and Neck Society, has a full year of educational programing scheduled for 2022.  We will be hosting webinars throughout the year.  Please see list provided below (2022 Scheduled Webinars). 

In August, we will be hosting our Second Annual Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship Symposium and are hoping you can provide some guidance on topics you are interested in and will assist you with your head and neck cancer journey.  Please select the topics below that you would find most beneficial learning more about from leading experts and head and neck cancer survivors. 

• Aging and head and neck cancer
• Dental Care during and following head and neck cancer treatment
• Disability Insurance/Financial Management
• HPV-attributed diagnosis: sharing the diagnosis with partner, friends and loved ones 
• Managing employment during cancer journey and returning to work following treatment
• Parents:  managing the head and neck cancer journey with their children
• Other topics ______________________________________________

2022 Scheduled Webinars

• Mind and Body Program for Head and Neck Cancer Patients and Survivors — January 
• Substance Abuse Cessation (alcohol/tobacco/pain meds) — March
• Oral Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week/Oral Cancer Awareness Month — Newly-diagnosed patients webinar — April 
• Radiation Fibrosis — June
• Head and Neck Cancer Clinical Trials — September  
• Open Forum: head and neck cancer patients/survivors to meet with each other and discus their journeys– November 
• Caregiver Needs – December