Writing Intervention With Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Young people with cancer have difficult experiences and writing exercises may help improve their well-being. However, very few studies have examined how a creative writing activity might be useful for young people with cancer. In this pilot study, researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital hope to explore whether teenagers and young adults with cancer want to participate in a writing exercise and whether they find it to be valuable. Primary Objective To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a writing-based narrative medicine intervention for adolescent and young adult patients with cancer.

Detailed Description
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Participants will be given the opportunity to write about their experiences with cancer, with support and guidance from an expert writer. Participants will meet briefly with the expert at the start of the exercise (15-30 minutes), and they can choose to meet 1-3 additional times with the expert over the next 2 months to receive further support if they wish. After completing the writing exercise, participants will do an informal interview to share their thoughts about whether the experience of writing felt helpful or not. The post-intervention interview will occur at around 2 months after enrollment, +/- 1 month.

Official Title
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ChronCan (Chronicling Cancer): Piloting a Novel Writing Intervention With Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer

Conditions
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Cancer Patients, Communication Research

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Writing
* Behavioral: Interview


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Aged 15-25 Currently receiving cancer-directed therapy Active patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Exclusion Criteria: Does not meet the inclusion criteria

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 15 Years
Maximum Age: 25 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Participants<br>Adolescents and young adults (AYA) patients aged 15-25 years currently receiving cancer-directed therapy at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital | Behavioral: Writing<br>* Participants will be asked to write about their experiences with cancer, guided by several specific open-ended writing prompts to spark ideas.<br>Behavioral: Interview<br>* Following completion of the writing exercise, participants will reflect on their experiences with the writing intervention in a semi-structured private interview with a member of the research team.<br>* Other names: Questions;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of touchpoints that participants have with the narrative medicine expert/guide | To determine intervention feasibility, the number of touchpoints that participants have with the narrative medicine expert/guide will be tracked | During the narrative exercise, up to 2 months after enrollment | 
| Number of participants who complete the writing exercise | To determine intervention feasibility, the number of participants who complete the writing exercise will be tracked | During the narrative exercise, up to 2 months after enrollment | 
| Intervention acceptability | Comparison of acceptability between participants who did/did not participate in the optional check-ins. Analysis of de-identified semi-structured interviews will be done. Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, de-identified, and analyzed using content analysis, an inductive approach that includes memo-writing, codebook development, coding, reconciliation, and synthesis to identify emerging patterns and themes. | Post-intervention interview will occur after the narrative exercise is completed at around 2 months after enrollment, +/- 1 month | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Adolescents, Young Adults, Writing Intervention, Interview