Exploring Charitable Supports for Families of AYAs with Cancer, Across the Island of Ireland

Abstract
Background: An adolescent or young adult (AYA) cancer diagnosis profoundly impacts the entire family, which often becomes the primary source of emotional, practical, and financial support. Yet evidence suggests the family’s needs frequently fall outside of formal healthcare provision. Charities play a key role in providing cancer-specific psychosocial support to families across the island of Ireland, but little is known about how these organizations conceptualize and deliver family-focused care. Understanding this landscape is essential for strengthening family-centred support across the cancer trajectory.
Methods: This exploratory study aims to map charity support for families of AYAs with cancer across the island of Ireland. Eligible participants include staff or volunteers involved in designing, coordinating, or delivering psychosocial services within cancer-related charities. Charities will be identified through national registers and online searches (anticipated n=12–20). Data collection includes (1) service-level anonymised data from charities, (2) brief online questionnaire, and (3) semi-
80 structured interviews. Descriptive statistics will summarize questionnaire and service-level data, while interviews will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: This study is ongoing. Anticipated findings include identifying service strengths, barriers and facilitators of engagement, and gaining a deeper understanding of how family support is conceptualized across charities. Data collection concludes in March. Results will be presented at conference.
Conclusions: This research will provide the first all-Ireland overview of charitable support for families impacted by AYA cancer. Results will inform recommendations for enhancing family-centred services and guide subsequent research.