Achieving Health Equity in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Psycho-Oncology Care

AYA CARE Symposium

Achieving Health Equity in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Psycho-Oncology Care

Join a dynamic conversation with four experts in the field:

• Christabel Cheung, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

• Nina Jackson Levin, PhD Candidate, University of Michigan

• Angela Usher, PhD, Manager, UC Davis Cancer Center

• Kelly Irwin, MD, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School

Panel discussion facilitated by:

• Bradley Zebrack, PhD, Professor, University of Michigan

• Emily Walling, MD, Assistant Professor, Michigan Medicine

Symposium abstract:

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are a vulnerable, age-defined population of cancer patients who have unique psychosocial needs, and who face worse psychosocial and health outcomes over a 5-year period than their pediatric and adult counterparts. (1–3) The first decade of AYA psycho-oncology care and research (2005–2015) was driven by a normative, developmental framework that assumed a generalizable life experience for AYAs. As we proceed through a second decade, new considerations emerge regarding diversity of life experiences as occurring within and influenced by a complex global context. (4) In 2016, Hammond (5) suggested that foregrounding the similarities of AYAs based on age obfuscates the critical within-group differences among AYAs dependent upon intersecting sociodemographic factors such as age, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. Since Hammond’s watershed article, the AYA field has moved away from a “singular message of distinctness” (5) and toward an understanding of sociodemographic diversity within the AYA age cohort(s). To make this understanding actionable, the field is now tasked with critically addressing disparate social conditions that differentially impact AYA health outcomes. Applying a health equity lens to AYA psycho-oncology, this panel convenes multi-disciplinary scholars to discuss the state of the field regarding the intersection of AYAs and race/ethnicity (Christabel Cheung); sexual and gender identity (Nina Jackson Levin), mental health (Kelly Erwin), and accessibility (Angela Usher). The purpose of this panel is to 1) identify the unique challenges AYA cancer patients within these social subgroups face; 2) consider the intersectional impacts of these identities on achieving equitable health care service delivery, and 3) discuss multi-level solutions to these challenges as a forward-looking direction for the field of AYA psycho-oncology.

References

1. Zebrack B, Mathews-Bradshaw B, Siegel S, LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance. Quality cancer care for adolescents and young adults: a position statement. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28(32):4862-4867. doi:10.1200/JCO.2010.30.5417
2. Zebrack BJ. Psychological, social, and behavioral issues for young adults with cancer. Cancer. 2011;117(S10):2289.  doi:10.1002/cncr.26056
3. Stoneham SJ. AYA survivorship: The next challenge. Cancer. 2020;126(10):2116-2119. doi:10.1002/cncr.32774
4. Levin NJ, Zebrack B, Cole SW. Psychosocial issues for adolescent and young adult cancer patients in a global context: A forward-looking approach. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 2019;66(8):e27789. doi:10.1002/pbc.27789
5. Hammond C. Against a Singular Message of Distinctness: Challenging Dominant Representations of Adolescents and Young Adults in Oncology. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. 2016;6(1):45-49. doi:10.1089/jayao.2016.0018

This event is co-sponsored by:

• Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan Health
• Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Center for Health Equity Research and Training, University of Michigan
• School of Social Work, University of Michigan

Questions? Feel free to reach out to Kirstn Tatar at the Curtis Center.

• Email: ktatar@umich.edu 
• Phone: 734-647-4072