Substance use may alter health status of cancer-surviving adolescents, amplifying late effects of radiation and chemotherapy, and resulting in pulmonary, cardiovascular, and liver abnormalities. Teen cancer survivors struggle with the decision whether to engage in risk behaviors like their peers or to follow the advice of their health professional. The 2003 Children's Oncology Group Late Effects Screening Guidelines addressed the need for risk behavior counseling. Decision aids help prepare patients to make decisions relevant to their health status. ? ? The aims of this study are to: 1) test the hypothesis that teen cancer survivors, who receive a decision aid (cognitive-behavioral skills program) to enhance decision-making skills (framed within the context of risk behaviors and their interaction with late effects of cancer treatment), will report increased quality decision making 6- and 12-months post-intervention compared with the usual care group; and 2) explore the hypothesis that teen cancer survivors, who receive the decision aid will report (a) maintained or lowered risk motivation, and (b) maintained or lowered risk behavior status (in smoking, alcohol consumption, or illicit drug use) 6- and 12-months post-intervention compared with the usual care group. This prospective, randomized clinical trial will use repeated measures at 6- and 12-months post-intervention. Three pediatric oncology clinics will participate. A computer-assisted decision aid will provide 7.5 hours contact over 12 months. 240 teen cancer survivors, ages 14-19, will be recruited. Two subgroups will be used: those who report engaging in at least one risk behavior at study entry and those who do not. Teens will be chosen by serial enrollment from the clinic schedule and randomly assigned to one of two groups (usual or enhanced care) within each subgroup. The outcome measures are: decision making, risk motivation, and risk behavior status. The decision aid will be administered during the initial visit, followed by three mailed home """"""""e-boosters"""""""" for the computer at 2, 4, and 6 months. A telephone call will be used at 9 months to maintain contact. All follow-up will be monitored by telephone calls. All measures will be completed online at all 3 endpoints, except the cognitive scale, which will be paper format on one occasion only. Data will be collected during a semistructured interview for the initial and 12-month clinic visits. Generalized linear models will be used for data analyses. ? ? ?
| Hollen, Patricia J; Tyc, Vida L; Donnangelo, Sarah F et al. (2013) A substance use decision aid for medically at-risk adolescents: results of a randomized controlled trial for cancer-surviving adolescents. Cancer Nurs 36:355-67 |
| Hollen, P J; Tyc, V L; Shannon, S V et al. (2013) Factors related to decision making and substance use in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer: a presenting clinical profile. J Cancer Surviv 7:500-10 |
