Meeting the needs of young cancer patients and their caregivers after fertility tissue preservation: A mixed methods study to inform a reproductive clinical care support tool

Research summary

This is a protocol to support primary research into the condition-specific needs of young adults in the UK who store ovarian or testicular tissue after childhood cancer, their parents and the healthcare professionals who provide reproductive survivorship care. This research will be used to help inform the development of a care support tool to help clinical teams look after young adults who store tissue after childhood cancer, and to support their parents/guardians. The tool will be developed and tested in a follow-on protocol (phase 4). The project will be carried out in four phases: Phase 1: Survey for parents, patients and healthcare professionals Phase 2: Phase 3: Semi-structured interviews with parents, patients and healthcare professionals Phase 3: Stakeholder meetings and dissemination Phase 4: Follow on study (post doc) to develop and test the care support tool. This project will recruit young people, parents and healthcare professionals but does not involve the use of any medicinal products or medicinal procedures. Prior to survey administration, surveys will be tested with relevant stakeholders. It is anticipated that an amendment will be submitted to this application if the surveys are amended. Following surveys, the topic guide for interviews will also be developed and submitted as an amendment. In phase 3: Stakeholder meetings, the exact approach to stakeholder meetings is not finalised, as this depends on the results of surveys and interviews. Therefore, an amendment will be submitted to define the format of stakeholder meetings at the end of phase 2. Phase 4 is connected to this study but will seek approval separately from this application because it is not possible at this stage to outline in sufficient detail what phase 4 will involve.

Principal Investigator

Dr Shaun Robert Wilson

Contact us

Email: rhiannon.collins@ouh.nhs.uk

IRAS number

355968