Educational Intervention to Address Infertility-Related Knowledge Gaps Among Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer.

This study evaluates the impact of a personalized educational session on survivors' knowledge of risk for infertility and describes preferences for reproductive health care. This was a two-phase prospective study of an individualized education session for adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors aged 18-21 years. Sessions used sex-specific visual aids (phase I) or a personalized handout (phase II). Surveys assessing knowledge of overall risk for infertility (yes/no), level of risk (none, low, moderate, or high), relative impact of treatment on the window of fertility (same/less than peers), and the need to use protection to prevent pregnancy (yes/no) were completed at baseline and 1-month follow-up. Changes in knowledge were assessed using McNemar's test. Preferences for fertility education and fertility status assessment were ascertained. In phase I ( = 44), the educational intervention improved knowledge on the impact on the fertility window (from 69.7% correct responses to 90.9%;  = 0.03). In phase II ( = 54), the addition of a personalized, take-home visual aid significantly improved knowledge across all four concepts: knowledge of risk (68.4%-93.1%;  = 0.03), risk level (39.5%-86.8%;  < 0.001), impact on the fertility window (55.3%-86.8%;  = 0.003), and protection for pregnancy prevention (62.2%-81.1%;  = 0.03). Nearly all males (97%) and 66% of females preferred private sessions. The majority of survivors (73%) would like to undergo fertility status testing in the next 5 years. In this sample of AYA cancer survivors, individualized education sessions with personalized visual aids and assessment of survivors' understanding of information significantly improved knowledge of key reproductive health concepts.