Digital self-management and peer mentoring to help childhood cancer survivors transition to adult care
Official title: Digital Self-Management and Peer Mentoring Intervention to Improve the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Health Care for Childhood Cancer Survivors
Funded at Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences · NIH-11370853 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A digital, mentor-supported program helps young survivors manage their health as they move from pediatric to adult follow-up care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 1, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $664,024 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA282147-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11370853 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancer who are transitioning to or already in adult survivorship care and who are seeking support to manage their follow-up.
✕Less likely to help
Survivors not seeking digital or mentor-supported self-management may receive little direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project provides six 1:1 virtual sessions with a peer mentor who is also a childhood cancer survivor, alongside companion online learning modules. The program aims to boost self-management skills and engagement with adult survivorship care to reduce the number of survivors lost during the transition. It builds on a proven feasibility study showing good engagement and self-management improvements, and plans further testing in a structured setting. If successful, it could make ongoing, risk-based follow-up more accessible for young adults who completed childhood cancer treatment.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, survivors may maintain better long-term follow-up and early detection of late effects.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary results from a two-arm randomized feasibility trial showed high engagement and improvements in self-management.
Where this research is happening
-
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
Newark, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Devine, Katie a — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Devine, Katie a
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Helping young adult cancer survivors manage their health as they move to adult care
This project helps young adult survivors of childhood cancer learn to manage their health and connect with peer mentors as they transition to adult healthcare.
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Strategies to Find and Reconnect Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors to Adult Follow-Up Care
A nationwide effort to locate and re-engage young people who survived childhood cancer so they can keep receiving important follow-up care.
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Using ECG and AI to find childhood cancer survivors at risk for late cardiomyopathy
This project uses routine ECG tracings plus artificial intelligence to spot childhood cancer survivors who may develop heart muscle disease years later.
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STRENGTH: Time-restricted eating to reduce cardiometabolic risk in childhood cancer survivors
A program tests whether time-restricted eating can lower heart and diabetes risks for adults who survived childhood cancer.
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Family-centered communication help for young adult survivors of childhood cancer
A K08 grant to develop and pilot a tailored family-centered communication program to help young adult survivors of childhood cancer manage their ongoing care.
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How Medicaid affects care for adults who survived childhood cancer
This project looks at how Medicaid shapes healthcare experiences for adults who had cancer as children.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.