Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Cancer Med. 2023 Aug;12(16):17273-17283. doi: 10.1002/cam4.6317. Epub 2023 Jul 4.
This study sought to investigate interactive participation and content of a moderated discussion forum within a web-based psychoeducational intervention aimed at alleviating sexual dysfunction and fertility distress in young adults diagnosed with cancer.
The study is part of the Fex-Can Young Adult randomized controlled trial (RCT), in which young adults with self-reported sexual dysfunction or fertility distress were invited to participate. This study focuses on RCT participants that were randomized into the intervention condition. Sociodemographics and clinical characteristics of intervention participants and level of activity in the intervention were analyzed with descriptive statistics and compared between subgroups ("high" and "low" activity participants). Inductive qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyze the posts in the discussion forum.
Of 135 intervention participants, 24% met the criteria for high activity participation. There were no statistically significant differences found in terms of clinical and sociodemographic characteristics between high and low activity participants. Ninety-one participants (67%) accessed the discussion forum, and 19 (14%) posted at least once. Posters shared intimate details of their experiences of sexuality and fertility following cancer. The thematic analysis of posts resulted in four themes: fertility fears, perceptions of the changed body, missing out on life, and importance of support and information.
While a smaller proportion of participants posted in the discussion forum, a majority spent time reading posts (lurkers). Participants posting in the forum shared experiences of intimate relationships, body image, parenthood concerns, and support needs. The discussion forum was used by a majority of intervention participants, and provided appreciated support for those who posted in the forum. We therefore recommend similar interventions to include this opportunity for interaction and communication.
本研究旨在调查基于网络的心理教育干预中，一个有主持人的讨论论坛的互动参与和内容，该干预旨在缓解被诊断患有癌症的年轻成年人的性功能障碍和生育困扰。
本研究是 Fex-Can 年轻成年人随机对照试验（RCT）的一部分，邀请自我报告有性功能障碍或生育困扰的年轻成年人参与。本研究主要关注被随机分配到干预组的 RCT 参与者。采用描述性统计分析干预参与者的社会人口统计学和临床特征以及干预活动水平，并在亚组（“高”和“低”活动参与者）之间进行比较。采用归纳定性主题分析方法分析讨论论坛中的帖子。
在 135 名干预参与者中，24%符合高活动参与标准。高活动和低活动参与者在临床和社会人口统计学特征方面没有发现统计学上的显著差异。91 名参与者（67%）访问了讨论论坛，其中 19 名（14%）至少发布过一次帖子。发布者分享了他们癌症后性和生育方面的亲密经历。帖子的主题分析得出了四个主题：生育恐惧、对身体变化的看法、错失生活、以及支持和信息的重要性。
尽管只有一小部分参与者在讨论论坛上发布帖子，但大多数参与者会花时间阅读帖子（潜水者）。发布帖子的参与者分享了亲密关系、身体形象、育儿担忧以及支持需求的经历。讨论论坛被大多数干预参与者使用，并为那些在论坛上发布帖子的人提供了备受赞赏的支持。因此，我们建议类似的干预措施应提供这种互动和交流的机会。
