Writing Intervention With Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Writing, Interview.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Cancer Patients, Communication Research. Basic parameters: 15 years — 25 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
ChronCan (Chronicling Cancer): Piloting a Novel Writing Intervention With Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer
Overview
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
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. Patients may participate in a second informal semi-structured interview 6 to 12 months after completing the first interview. Additionally, bereaved parents may participate in an informal interview on study.
Interventions
- Behavioral Writing
Participants will be asked to write about their experiences with cancer, guided by several specific open-ended writing prompts to spark ideas. - Behavioral Interview
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.
Primary outcome measures
- Number of touchpoints that participants have with the narrative medicine expert/guide [Time frame: During the narrative exercise, up to 2 months after enrollment]
- Number of participants who complete the writing exercise [Time frame: During the narrative exercise, up to 2 months after enrollment]
- Intervention acceptability [Time frame: Post-intervention interview will occur after the narrative exercise is completed at around 2 months after enrollment, +/- 1 month]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Aged 15-25
- Currently receiving cancer-directed therapy
- Active patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Parent of a ChronCan participant who has passed away
Exclusion criteria
- Does not meet the inclusion criteria
- If the parents have not responded or not interviewed till July 31, 2027.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Other
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — Memphis
Identifiers
NCT: NCT05975333 · ChronCan · NCI-2023-06074