Recruiting

Writing Intervention

Sponsor:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Code:

NCT05975333

Conditions

Cancer Patients

Communication Research

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 15 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Writing

Interview

Study Details

Brief summary:

Young people with cancer have difficult experiences and writing exercises may help improve their well-being. However, very few studies have examined how a creative writing activity might be useful for young people with cancer. In this pilot study, researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital hope to explore whether teenagers and young adults with cancer want to participate in a writing exercise and whether they find it to be valuable.

Primary Objective

To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a writing-based narrative medicine intervention for adolescent and young adult patients with cancer.

Conditions

Cancer Patients

Communication Research

Study ID

NCT05975333

Start date

Aug 2, 2023

Status verified date

May, 2026

Completion date

Jul, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 17, 2024

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 15 - 25

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Aged 15-25
  • Currently receiving cancer-directed therapy
  • Active patient at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  • Parent of a ChronCan participant who has passed away

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Does not meet the inclusion criteria
  • If the parents have not responded or not interviewed till July 31, 2027.

Study Design

Enrollment

26 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Participants

Adolescents and young adults (AYA) patients aged 15-25 years currently receiving cancer-directed therapy at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Interventions

Writing

Participants will be asked to write about their experiences with cancer, guided by several specific open-ended writing prompts to spark ideas.

Interview

Following completion of the writing exercise, participants will reflect on their experiences with the writing intervention in a semi-structured private interview with a member of the research team.

Primary outcome measure

  • Number of touchpoints that participants have with the narrative medicine expert/guide [ Time Frame: During the narrative exercise, up to 2 months after enrollment ]
  • Number of participants who complete the writing exercise [ Time Frame: During the narrative exercise, up to 2 months after enrollment ]
  • Intervention acceptability [ Time Frame: Post-intervention interview will occur after the narrative exercise is completed at around 2 months after enrollment, +/- 1 month ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Erica Kaye, MD

888-226-4343referralinfo@stjude.org

Locations

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Recruiting

Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105

Contacts

Erica Kaye, MD

888-226-4343referralinfo@stjude.org

Principal Investigator:

Erica Kaye, MD

More Information

Sponsor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Last update posted

May 8, 2026

Last verified

May, 2026

Keywords

  • Adolescents
  • Young Adults
  • Writing Intervention
  • Interview

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on 2026-05-08.