Use and impact of virtual resources for peer support by young adults living with cancer: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Young adults (YA) with cancer often have unmet psychosocial needs. The impact of peer support delivered in an online format to fulfil these needs in the populations of YA with cancer has not been thoroughly examined. Methods: We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Embase, and Medline databases. We included articles about online peer support interventions for YA cancer survivors between the ages of 18 to 40 years old. Results: Our literature search yielded n = 2,773 articles and we obtained consensus on 12 articles for inclusion. We qualitatively synthesized these articles using data abstraction based on the Template for Intervention and Replication (TIDierR) checklist. Overall, six studies demonstrated correlation between online peer support and improved wellbeing of participants. Thus, online peer support may be useful for young cancer patients. Conclusion: This systematic review summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the availability and evaluation of online YA peer support programs and reveals the need for further research in this field.

Keywords

• young adult
• social support
• cancer survivor
• social survivorship
• social media
• internet-based intervention