Setting the Stage: Advancing a Cancer Prevention Agenda for Young Adults

Cancer Prevention Literacy among Different Population Subgroups: Challenges and Enabling Factors for Adopting and Complying with Cancer Prevention Recommendations

It is estimated that 40% of the cancer cases in Europe could be prevented if people had better information and tools to make healthier choices and thereby reduce some of the most important cancer risk factors. The aim of this study is to gain knowledge and understanding about cancer prevention literacy among people with intellectual disabilities, immigrants, young people and young cancer survivors. In this qualitative study, we conducted six online focus-group interviews, including forty participants, to explore the cancer prevention literacy of four population subgroups and determine how cancer prevention recommendations according to the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC) were perceived. The analysis resulted in the following main categories: current health beliefs and their impacts on how the ECAC recommendations were perceived, communication strategies and sources benefiting or hindering cancer prevention information from reaching out, and how vulnerabilities in these subgroups impact cancer prevention literacy. To improve cancer prevention literacy in Europe, more attention is needed this topic to overcome barriers among different population subgroups. Recommendations include improved and adapted cancer prevention information, support to individuals, as well as societal support, such as easy-access screening and vaccination programmes and regulations related to tobacco, alcohol, and diet.

Personal Narrative: Raising Awareness of Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors in Similarly Aged University Students

Purpose: As part of a programmatic educational initiative, we developed a personal narrative presentation, embedded with evidence-based data, to raise awareness of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) who have been diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 15 and 39 years among similarly aged university students. The narrative encompassed the cancer care continuum from signs of the disease through survivorship and incorporated psychosocial aspects of the experience. Methods: The presenter, diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 25 years in 2007, interwove AYA data with her narrative in a series of 26 invited lectures given over 2 academic years, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018. Students were asked to provide anonymous open-ended feedback. Six hundred thirteen forms were collected and retrospectively dually coded and analyzed. Results: The majority of students (97%) referenced at least one of the presentation's three objectives: (1) build awareness of the AYA demographic; (2) encourage a personal health care focus; and (3) expand awareness of the far-reaching impact of cancer (i.e., psychological, social, and medical) both during and beyond the treatment phase. Format- and/or content-related suggestions and potential benefits of hearing the narrative also were reported. Conclusion: The use of personal narrative to raise awareness of the AYA cancer experience in an academic setting is both feasible and effective. Students demonstrated a new or enhanced understanding of AYA cancer and its biopsychosocial implications. We provide evidence to inform the design of awareness interventions directed at similarly aged university students.