Cancer treatment can sometimes lead to physical changes, social isolation because of missing school or work (especially during COVID), and difficulty relating to and keeping up with peers, all of which can make it hard for young people to look after their social wellbeing. Research shows that social wellbeing is important for young people with cancer, as it can affect their emotional wellbeing too. But, to be able to better support young people's social wellbeing during cancer treatment, we need to understand more about how cancer treatment can affect it. That's why we've developed the SOCIAL AYA study.

What does this study aim to do?

SOCIAL AYA aims to explore the social experiences of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with cancer. We want to better understand how going through cancer treatment affects young people’s social wellbeing and how they feel about themselves. This research also aims to identify young people who might be struggling socially, and to develop better ways for their healthcare providers to help and support them.  ​

Would you like to be involved?

Young people who are between 12 and 30 years old and have been diagnosed with cancer in the past year are invited to participate.

Participating in this study involves: 
  • Reading an information statement and consenting to the study. 
  • Filling out 2 questionnaires 6 months apart (now, and 6 months later). We think these will take 30 minutes each. 
  • Participating in 2 interviews with me, 6 months apart (in the coming month, and 6 months later). The first interview will ask about your recent and past emotional wellbeing and mental health. We think this interview will take about 1.5-2 hours to complete, and will be conducted over video call. The second interview will ask about how cancer treatment has affected your social life and social wellbeing, and will be conducted over video call. We think this will take about 30-40 minutes to complete. 
  • In reimbursement for your time, we will email you a $10 electronic gift card after each part of the study is completed ($10 per questionnaire, $10 per interview, bonus $5 for completing all parts=$50)

You can download the study flyer here.

For more information, please contact: ​