Survivorship
Conditions
Keywords
Survivorship, Pediatric Cancers, Young Adult Cancers
Brief summary
The purpose of this project is to identify effective strategies to assist survivors of childhood and young adult cancers (diagnosed between birth and age 39) who have not returned for follow-up cancer care for 3 or more years, to reengage with the health care system. The investigator will evaluate the effect of a novel, bidirectional conversational agent (Penny), compared to usual care, to assist patients with scheduling appointments, lab work as well as scans and specialty appointments as needed.
Detailed description
To achieve this, the investigator will use a two-arm randomized controlled trial to explore how multilevel factors impact the acceptability and effectiveness of this strategy by collecting qualitative and quantitative data from patients. Penny is a conversational agent (chatbot) that engages patients in real time via text messaging, allowing for bidirectional communication and motivational cues to promote adherence. The chatbot will assist patients who have not been see for cancer follow-up care, with scheduling follow-up appointments, labs, scans, specialty appointments, and monitor compliance with the appointments made.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPenny
The chatbot will assist patients who have not been see for cancer follow-up care, with scheduling follow-up appointments, labs, scans, specialty appointments, and monitor compliance with the appointments made.
Sponsors
Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adult patient (age \> 18 years), male or female, diagnosed with cancer as a child or as a young adult, between birth and 39 years of age * Patient possession of a mobile device that can receive SMS texts * Ability to respond to questions and engage with Penny in English * Ability to provide informed consent to participate in the study * Approval of the patient's oncology care team for the patient to be involved in the study
Exclusion criteria
* Anyone who does not meet the inclusion criteria * Patients with a history of thyroid cancer or skin cancers
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| To evaluate the utilization of a chatbot (Penny) to increase receipt of evidence-based survivorship care in YA survivors of pediatric and YA cancers | 1 year | We will identify adult survivors of pediatric and YA cancers who have not been seen for follow-up care \>3 years and evaluate patients' engagement with Penny to schedule return appointments and adhere to recommended life-long ongoing follow-up care according to the NCCN guidelines. Patients will be monitored over a 16-week period to see if they scheduled a follow-up care appointment. |
| Number of patients who agree to use Penny and patient engagement overtime in those patients randomized to the Penny arm | 1 year | Percentage of initial responses to the conversation initiated by Penny (opt in vs. opt out) providing permission for text messaging |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed