Examining key sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents and young adults with cancer: A post hoc analysis of the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management randomized clinical trial
child; human; palliative therapy; controlled study; female; major clinical study; male; article; adolescent; school child; young adult; quality of life; total quality management; outcome assessment; randomized controlled trial; treatment outcome; cancer center; coping behavior; socioeconomics; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory; stress management; cancer specific quality of life; Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale; Hope Scale; patient-reported outcome; Psychological Distress Scale; psychosocial development; environmental resilience; post hoc analysis
Background: The "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" intervention is a skills-based, early palliative care intervention with demonstrated efficacy in adolescents and young adults with cancer.
Lau N; Bradford M C; Steineck A; Scott S; Bona K; Yi-Frazier J P; McCauley E; Rosenberg A R
Palliative Medicine
2020
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<a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0269216319886215" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1177/0269216319886215</a>
"I'm Not a Spiritual Person." How Hope Might Facilitate Conversations About Spirituality Among Teens and Young Adults With Cancer
adolescent
Context: Supporting patients' spiritual needs is central to palliative care. Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) may be developing their spiritual identities; it is unclear how to navigate conversations concerning their spiritual needs. Objectives: To 1) describe spiritual narratives among AYAs based on their self-identification as religious, spiritual, both, or neither and 2) identify language to support AYAs' spiritual needs in keeping with their self-identities. Methods: In this mixed-methods, prospective, longitudinal cohort study, AYAs (14-25 years old) with newly diagnosed cancer self-reported their "religiousness" and "spirituality." One-on-one, semistructured interviews were conducted at three time points (within 60 days of diagnosis, six to 12 months, and 12-18 months later) and included queries about spirituality, God/prayer, meaning from illness, and evolving self-identity. Post hoc directed content analysis informed a framework for approaching religious/spiritual discussions. Results: Seventeen AYAs (mean age 17.1 years, SD = 2.7, 47% male) participated in 44 interviews. Of n = 16 with concurrent survey responses, five (31%) self-identified as both "religious and spiritual," five (31%) as "spiritual, not religious," one (6%) as "religious, not spiritual," and five (31%) as neither. Those who endorsed religiousness tended to cite faith as a source of strength, whereas many who declined this self-identity explicitly questioned their preexisting beliefs. Regardless of self-identified "religiousness" or "spirituality," most participants endorsed quests for meaning, purpose, and/or legacy, and all included constructs of hope in their narratives. Conclusion: AYA self-identities evolve during the illness experience. When words such as "religion" and "spirituality" do not fit, explicitly exploring hopes, worries, meaning, and changing life perspectives may be a promising alternative.
Barton KS; Tate T; Lau N; Taliesin KB; Waldman ED; Rosenberg AR
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.
2018
<a href="http://doi.org/%2010.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.02.001" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.02.001</a>