Project Background
Approximately 15,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. These individuals experience symptoms as a result of their disease and its treatment that interfere with their quality of life. Digital health interventions can help children and adolescents communicate their symptoms which can lead to better care to alleviate symptoms. My teams are currently conducting two National Cancer Institute-funded studies to evaluate digital health interventions for children and adolescents with cancer, and we are recruiting from patients being treated at Primary Children's Hospital. The first study is in its second year of funding and involves adolescents and young adults (15-29 years of age). It is a multi-site trial evaluating the use of a digital heuristics-based symptom communication intervention (the Computerized Symptom Capture Tool or C-SCAT) on self-efficacy for symptom self-management and symptom self-management behaviors. Our participants are randomized the intervention (using the C-SCAT before clinical visits) or to receive usual care. The second study involves children 6-12 years of age and is in its first year of funding. This study will involve integrating data children report using the game-based Color Me Healthy symptom assessment app into the electronic health record. We will develop a clinician-facing version of the app that will allow clinicians to view children's data during clinical visits. We will then evaluate key components of implementing Color Me Healthy as a communications-support intervention during the early cancer treatment period.
Student Role
Students will have the opportunity to participate in either or both projects. Students will be required to complete relevant training related to the conduct of human subjects research, and this can be included as part of the SPUR experience. For both projects, students will have the opportunity to participate in regularly scheduled interprofessional team meetings and engage in discussions related to the management and implementation of federally-funded research projects. Specific to the adolescent/young adult project, students will have the opportunity to help screen potential patients for eligibility, prepare local reports related to participant accrual, and support local quality reviews to evaluate fidelity of the intervention. Specific to the elementary school-age child project, students will engage with the interprofessional team in reviewing builds of the clinician-facing app. Students will have the opportunity to participate in data collection sessions with clinicians and help compile data to support analyses related to the usability of the clinician-facing app. They will also have the opportunity to participate in dissemination of research findings. Students may also have the opportunity to help develop patient-focused promotional materials in preparation for Aims 2 and 3 of the study.
Student Learning Outcomes and Benefits
Students will have the opportunity to engage in human subjects research with an emphasis on ethical issues and considerations pertinent to research involving children and adolescents with cancer. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about and interact with digital health interventions and how they can be implemented in clinical care settings with the goal of improving the care of patients. They will also learn about the key role of engaging clinicians as key stakeholders in the development of digital health interventions prior to their implementation. Students will participate in interdisciplinary team meetings and gain exposure to the importance of team science. Students will participate in data collection efforts and the role of ensuring fidelity to the study protocol. Students will also participate in disseminating study progress by helping compile study reports. Depending on study progress during summer semester, students may have the opportunity to participate in scholarly dissemination through abstract development. Students will have the opportunity to continue with either study in a volunteer RA capacity or through other funding opportunities that may become available.
Lauri Linder
Mentoring undergraduate students in research is a particularly enjoyable aspect of my faculty role. I have mentored over 20 undergraduate students during the past 10 years, whether as honors students, UROP participants, or those seeking the undergraduate research scholar designation. Over half of my undergraduate mentees have been included as co-authors on peer-reviewed publications and/or have disseminated their research at local, national, and international conferences. In addition to nursing, my undergraduate mentees have represented disciplines such as health; communication; biology; and health, society, and policy. Several of my mentees have returned to graduate school, and one is currently enrolled in medical school. In my role as mentor, I work closely with students to ensure that they understand their expected responsibilities and have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions. I also seek to ensure an environment where students are able to propose ideas and contribute as a member of the inter-professional research team. Specific mentoring activities in addition to the research-related activities named above include: regular weekly 1:1 meetings in addition to participation in research team meetings; participation in research-related training opportunities within the College of Nursing; and working with the clinical research coordinator to gain additional insights into the day-to-day management of a research study.