Open AccessDigital Health Interventions for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors
Author(s) -
Katie A. Devine,
Adrienne Viola,
Elliot J. Coups,
Yelena P. Wu
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
jco clinical cancer informatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.188
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2473-4276
DOI - 10.1200/cci.17.00138
Subject(s) - psychological intervention , psychosocial , medicine , telehealth , survivorship curve , digital health , health care , mhealth , gerontology , modalities , telemedicine , population , nursing , psychiatry , environmental health , social science , sociology , economics , economic growth
This narrative review describes the evidence regarding digital health interventions targeting adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. We reviewed the published literature for studies involving Internet, mHealth, social media, telehealth, and other digital interventions for AYA survivors. We highlight selected studies to illustrate the state of the research in this unique patient population. Interventions have used various digital modalities to improve health behaviors (eg, physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation), enhance emotional well-being, track and intervene on cancer-related symptoms, and improve survivorship care delivery. The majority of studies have demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of digital health interventions for AYA survivors, but few efficacy studies have been conducted. Digital health interventions are promising to address unmet psychosocial and health information needs of AYA survivors. Researchers should use rigorous development and evaluation methods to demonstrate the efficacy of these approaches to improve health outcomes for AYA survivors.