Research on evaluation of a website to support survivors with adolescent and young adult cancer

About this study

In adolescence and young adulthood (15–39 years of age), there are several life-stage events that important for building social relationships, such as school attendance, employment, romantic relationships, and marriage, in addition to physical and mental growth and development, and thus, this is a very important period to organize the social life of adolescents. Area-specific measures in the third Basic Plan to Promote Cancer Control Programs include “cancer control measures suited for different life stages,” and support for those who have been diagnosed with cancer during the adolescence and young adulthood is also a focus of administration policy.

The information support site “AYA Cancer and Living Support” [URL  https://plaza.umin.ac.jp/~aya-support/] (link to an external site), which was developed based on the results of a previous study (National Cancer Center Research and Development Fund 28-A-23) and opened to the public in 2019, provides “information” useful for daily living of survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer and “real experiences” of survivors who had similar experiences.

In this project, we have assessed whether the information on “AYA Cancer and Living Support” meets the needs of survivors with adolescent and young adult cancer, and we are revising the functions and contents to better meet the needs of the survivors (National Cancer Research Center Research and Development Fund 31-A-23).