Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07454460

AYA-PeerConnect: A Communication Coaching Intervention for Adolescent/Young Adult Cancer Survivors (AYACS)

This research is being done to test a communication coaching intervention pilot designed to improve communication quality between adolescent/young adult cancer survivors (AYACS) and their friends/peers. The results of the study will help to understand how to best support adolescent/young adult cancer survivors, and may inform the development or future implementation of similar programs for cancer survivor populations.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Communication Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Mental Disorders Social Behavior Social Isolation

Age range

18 year–35 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, United States

Location status: Recruiting

About this study

This study is being done to test a communication coaching intervention designed to improve communication quality between adolescent/young adult cancer survivors (AYACS) and their friends/peers. The results of the study will help to understand how to best support adolescent/young adult cancer survivors, and may inform the development or future implementation of similar programs for cancer survivor populations.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Participant is currently ≥18-35 years old
  • Participant is receiving cancer-directed care at Penn State Cancer Institute or Penn State Children's Hospital
  • Participant has completed all cancer-directed therapy and is at least 1 year from end of cancer treatment (based on date of last cancer-directed treatment)
  • Participant has access to a computer with internet capability
  • Participant is fluent in written and spoken English

Exclusion criteria

  • Participant is not fluent in written and spoken English
  • Participant with cognitive inability to participant in the study as determined by the study team
  • Participants with history of relapsed cancer

Treatment and study plan

Asynchronous coaching and artificial intelligence (AI) Yoodli coach sessions

Behavioral

Participants will complete asynchronous individual sessions for Visits 2-4. Each visit will include a 60-minute interactive didactic session using Rise 360 software, with a 20-minute Yoodli AI coaching session (both Rise 360 and Yoodli will be accessed via website). Rise 360 sessions will cover topics related to communication style, multiple goals theory and how to apply concepts learned in being good communicators. Yoodli AI coaching session will be completed for the corresponding Rise 360 session before moving to the next visit's session.

The 20-minute Yoodli AI coaching sessions will include coaching from the Yoodli AI coach and practicing various peer conversation situations. These sessions will consolidate and reinforce concepts learned in the didactic sessions. The Yoodli AI coach is programmed with input on relationship style (a communication tool to assess communication style) to deliver personalized coaching.

Primary outcomes

  1. Intervention Feasibility (Quantitative)

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Quantitative feasibility will be collected based on visit attendance.

  2. Intervention Feasibility (Qualitative)

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Qualitative feasibility data will be collected from post-module mixed methods assessments, and exit interviews and focus groups.

  3. Intervention Acceptability (Quantitative)

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Quantitative acceptability will be collected using an acceptability questionnaire. Quantitative acceptability will be integrated with qualitative data from post-module mixed methods assessments, and exit interviews and focus groups to understand intervention acceptability.

  4. Intervention Acceptability (Qualitative)

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Qualitative acceptability data will be collected from post-module mixed methods assessments, and exit interviews and focus groups.

  5. Communication quality Multiple Goals Score

    Time frame: Baseline

    Rating process for communication quality analysis (CQA) domains. A domain score is calculated for each of the six communication quality domains (content, emotion, accommodation, engagement, relationship, and face). Using the emotion domain as an example, the neutral score is assigned as a "1," and as participants express emotion (as per the definition above and further detailed in the CQA codebook) the score increases with the highest quality score being "7". A domain score is assigned every five minutes for each of the six domains. The full range for each measure is 6 (most neutral)-42 (highest quality).

  6. Communication quality Multiple Goals Score

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Rating process for communication quality analysis (CQA) domains. A domain score is calculated for each of the six communication quality domains (content, emotion, accommodation, engagement, relationship, and face). Using the emotion domain as an example, the neutral score is assigned as a "1," and as participants express emotion (as per the definition above and further detailed in the CQA codebook) the score increases with the highest quality score being "7". A domain score is assigned every five minutes for each of the six domains. The full range for each measure is 6 (most neutral)-42 (highest quality).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Anxiety

    Time frame: Baseline

    Anxiety will be measured using the Anxiety (Emotional Distress-Anxiety-Short Form 8a) measure from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). It is an 8-item self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety symptoms over the past 7 days, including fear, tension, and worry. It is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Never, 2=Rarely, 3=Sometimes, 4=Often, 5=Always).

  2. Anxiety

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Anxiety will be measured using the Anxiety (Emotional Distress-Anxiety-Short Form 8a) measure from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). It is an 8-item self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety symptoms over the past 7 days, including fear, tension, and worry. It is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Never, 2=Rarely, 3=Sometimes, 4=Often, 5=Always).

  3. Depression

    Time frame: Baseline

    Depression will be measured using the Depression (Emotional Distress-Depression-Short Form 8b) measure from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). It is an 8-item, self-report questionnaire assessing negative mood, views of self, and social cognition over the past seven days. It uses a 5-point scale (1=Never, 5=Always) to measure severity.

  4. Depression

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Depression will be measured using the Depression (Emotional Distress-Depression-Short Form 8b) measure from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS). It is an 8-item, self-report questionnaire assessing negative mood, views of self, and social cognition over the past seven days. It uses a 5-point scale (1=Never, 5=Always) to measure severity.

  5. Social isolation

    Time frame: Baseline

    Social isolation will be measured by the validated Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Social Isolation Form 8a.The PROMIS Social Isolation 8a short form is a 8-item, self-report tool measuring perceived loneliness and detachment from others. It uses a 5-point Likert scale (1=Never to 5=Always) to assess feelings of being avoided, excluded, or disconnected.

  6. Social isolation

    Time frame: Post intervention follow up visit (Up to a month)

    Social isolation will be measured by the validated Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Social Isolation Form 8a.The PROMIS Social Isolation 8a short form is a 8-item, self-report tool measuring perceived loneliness and detachment from others. It uses a 5-point Likert scale (1=Never to 5=Always) to assess feelings of being avoided, excluded, or disconnected.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Pooja Rao, MD MSCE

CONTACT

[email protected]

7175316012

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Mar 6, 2026
Registry last updated
May 22, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.