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a) Describe the psychosocial wellbeing of adolescent childhood cancer survivors.
b) Test whether the type of childhood cancer diagnosis and treatment are
associated with the psychosocial wellbeing of adolescent survivors.
c) Compare psychosocial wellbeing of adolescent childhood cancer survivors with
a control group of their peers.
This will be a non interventional case control study with matched control design, where
participants will complete an internet-based, computer administrated branching
questionnaire using M-CASI (multimedia computer assisted self interview programme).
The comparison group will be the 9,107 students throughout New Zealand who
completed the same questionnaire for the Youth’07 health and wellbeing survey.
This study aims to identify differences, if any, in the psychological wellbeing of
survivors compared with their peers. In particular, identify the risk factors and possible
resiliencies that are significant to them as a unique group and identify common areas of
difficulty. This information may be used to improve health outcomes and minimise the
impact of late effects of their cancer experience. This study contributes to the rapidly
increasing body of knowledge that exists internationally and provides for the first time a
unique view of the emotional wellbeing of these young people in Aotearoa New
Zealand. This will enable us to identify particular areas of need, gain an understanding
of what may contribute to these and from this we can better plan assessments,
interventions, services and supports in survivorship care.
The term “survivor” has become synonymous with young people who have been
cured of a cancer and achieved a long term remission. It is difficult to find literature that
doesn’t use the term survivor in relation to childhood cancer. This is equally true of
those cured or in remission from an adult cancer. The term was initially adopted by the
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) in 1986 at a time when cancer was
a disease with poorer outcomes and was something to be fought (Ellen Stovall, as cited
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