The impact of a cancer diagnosis on the education engagement of teenagers – Patient and staff perspective

PurposeEngagement with education during treatment is an important and complex issue for practitioners and an important psychosocial need of teenagers with cancer. There is limited research currently available specifically concerning the education of teenagers with cancer. This paper reports the outcomes from a patient and a practitioner questionnaire study which explore prominent issues and experiences in educational engagement for this population.MethodEighty-eight teenage cancer patients completed a questionnaire about their education experiences since diagnosis. Forty oncology practitioners completed an online questionnaire on experiences of education engagement of teenage patients. Questionnaires were developed from a systematic research review conducted by the authors and included; peer relationships, school attendance, reintegration and long term effects of cancer on attainment.ResultsAmong teenagers there was a significant relationship between successful maintenance of peer groups, successful reintegration into school and positive ratings of the education support. Teenagers who reported school as their primary source of support had significantly more successfully maintained peer groups. Practitioners rated peer support as the most important factor in education satisfaction for patients and stressed the need for collaborative planning between hospital, school and home.ConclusionsCollaborative education planning should be initiated on diagnosis and aim to include non-academic variables, such as peer groups, which can influence successful maintenance of education. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between education engagement and teenagers' cancer experiences as a whole, as well as gaining a more in depth understanding of how teenagers experience their education after a diagnosis of cancer.