IntroductionExtension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO©) is an innovative model for continuing professional development that uses videoconferencing technology to support and train general practitioners remotely. The model has been replicated to a variety of settings and locations for capacity building in healthcare professionals caring for patients with chronic and complex health conditions. Limited research has been conducted so far on the impact of ECHO in the field of concurrent mental health and substance use disorders (ie, concurrent disorders (CDs)). Therefore, this mixed methods study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of an ECHO programme impact for CD management on nurses’ competency development and clinical practice.Methods and analysisThe proposed mixed methods study, based on a convergent parallel design, will be conducted in the province of Quebec, Canada, to collect, analyse and interpret quantitative (QUAN) and qualitative (QUAL) data from a specific ECHO Program on CDs. In the QUAN component, an observational prospective cohort study will be conducted over a 12-month period. All nurses who participated in the programme between 2018 and 2020 and who consent to research will be recruited to collect data on the extent of their learning and practice outcomes at three time points. Alongside the surveys, nurses will be invited to participate in individual semistructured interviews. In-depth QUAL data will be subjected to a thematic analysis and will assist in exploring how and in which conditions nurses developed and mobilised their competencies in clinical practice. A comparison-of-results strategy will be used in the final integration component of the study.Ethics and disseminationThis study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Université de Montréal Hospital Center (#19.295) and the Université de Montréal Ethics Committee (CERSES-20–017 R). We aim to disseminate the findings through international academic conferences, international peer-reviewed journals and professional media.

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Background Individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (i.e., concurrent disorders) remain a challenge for the nurses attempting to care for them. They require nurses to constantly adapt themselves and develop high-level competencies despite the limited resources they have and the isolated settings in which many of them work. The Extension for Healthcare Community Outcomes (ECHO®) is a promising collaborative learning and capacity building model that uses videoconference technology to support and train healthcare professionals in the management of complex and chronic health conditions. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of nurses participating in a Canadian ECHO programme on concurrent disorders about the competencies they developed and mobilized in their clinical practice, and which factors have influenced this process. Methods The study was qualitative, guided by an interpretive descriptive approach. Individual semi-structured interviews were held with ten nurses who had participated in the programme for the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 curricula. A thematic analysis was conducted iteratively using an inductive approach to progressive data coding and organization. Results Four themes and eighteen sub-themes emerged. During their participation in ECHO, the nurses perceived as having further developed and mobilized eight clinical nursing competencies. Nurses viewed ECHO as a unique opportunity to open themselves to their peers’ experiences and reflect on their own knowledge. Learning from experts in the field of concurrent disorders helped them to build their confidence in managing complex clinical situations. The nurses’ sense of belonging to a community further enhanced their engagement in the programme, and learning was facilitated through the programme’s interprofessional environment. Nevertheless, the lack of contextualized educative content linked to local realities, the limited resources in concurrent disorders and time constraints were experienced as factors limiting competency development. Conclusions ECHO is a promising alternative to conventional, in-person continuing education programmes to improve the development of advanced competencies and clinical practice among nurses providing care to individuals with chronic and complex health conditions. These findings can inform clinicians, educators, researchers, and decision makers who are developing, implementing, evaluating and escalating future educational interventions in the field of CDs.

Introduction Some patients diagnosed with cancer use medical cannabis to self-manage undesirable symptoms, including nausea and pain. To improve patient safety and oncological care quality, the routes of administration for use of medical cannabis, patients’ reasons, and prescribed indications must be better understood. Methods Based on the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, a scoping review was conducted to map the current evidence regarding the use of medical cannabis in oncological settings based on the experiences of patients diagnosed with cancer and their healthcare providers. A search strategy was developed with a scientific librarian which included five databases (CINAHL, Web of Science, Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO) and two grey literature sources (Google Scholar and ProQuest). The inclusion criteria were: 1) population: adults aged 18 and over diagnosed with cancer; 2) phenomena of interest: reasons for cannabis use and/or the prescribed indications for medical cannabis; 3) context: oncological setting. French- or English-language primary empirical studies, knowledge syntheses, and grey literature published between 2000 and 2021 were included. Data were extracted by two independent reviewers and subjected to a thematic analysis. A narrative description approach was used to synthesize and present the findings. Results We identified 5,283 publications, of which 163 met the eligibility criteria. Two main reasons for medical cannabis use emerged from the thematic analysis: limiting the impacts of cancer and its side effects; and staying connected to others. Our results also indicated that medical cannabis is mostly used for three approved indications: to manage refractory nausea and vomiting, to complement pain management, and to improve appetite and food intake. We highlighted 11 routes of administration for medical cannabis, with oils and oral solutions the most frequently reported. Conclusion Future studies should consider the multiple routes of administration for medical cannabis, such as inhalation and edibles. Our review highlights that learning opportunities would support the development of healthcare providers’ knowledge and skills in assessing the needs and preferences of patients diagnosed with cancer who use medical cannabis.