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.
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.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
26
Participants will be asked to write about their experiences with cancer, guided by several specific open-ended writing prompts to spark ideas.
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.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
RECRUITINGNumber 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
Time frame: 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
Time frame: 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.
Time frame: Post-intervention interview will occur after the narrative exercise is completed at around 2 months after enrollment, +/- 1 month
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