Background: Service user participation contributes to the improvement of health care services for the betterment of conditions experienced by patients. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how adolescents and young adults (AYAs) experience involvement processes in practice and what it would take to achieve a high degree of involvement according to AYAs.
Objectives: To explore: (1) how AYAs with cancer experienced involvement processes during participation in three different service user involvement initiatives (development of an app, development of a book and youth panel meetings), and (2) AYAs' perceptions of determination and collaborative areas between AYAs and professionals.
Knowledge of the impact of participating in service user involvement within a health care setting among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer is limited, and it is unclear as to what AYAs with cancer gain from their participation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of participating in service user involvement initiatives from the perspective of AYA cancer patients and AYA cancer survivors. Individual semistructured interviews were performed with 12 AYAs aged 16-29 who had been or were in current treatment for cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFService user involvement, which implies involvement in decision-making processes important for organizing, developing, and evaluating health care, is sparsely investigated from the perspective of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate AYAs' reasons for participation in service user involvement initiatives during their cancer course. Data from 12 semistructured interviews with AYA cancer patients and AYA cancer survivors aged 16-29 years were analyzed using thematic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology and hematology is a developing field of medicine, focusing on a population that faces many challenges throughout medical treatment and beyond. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions provide exciting new opportunities for improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in AYAs with cancer. Many smartphone apps are currently available for AYAs with cancer; however, for AYAs with cancer, very few apps have been designed with direct input from AYAs themselves or have demonstrated their effectiveness and benefit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adolescents and young adults with cancer face significant challenges during the course of their medical treatment and recovery from illness. Many adolescents and young adults struggle with long-term complications in the physical, psychosocial, economic, and academic domains. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions provide an innovative platform for delivering supportive care, particularly through the utilization of apps on smartphones and tablets.
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