Information needs of young adults with cancer in Germany

Abstract

In Germany, approximately 500.000 people are newly diagnosed with cancer every year, of which only 3,3% are young adults between 18 and 39 years of age. Despite age-specific characteristics in terms of care and treatment, they receive little attention in the health infrastructure. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate information needs of young adults with cancer in Germany. Semi-structured guided online interviews were conducted with 14 young adults at the end of their treatment or in aftercare. The qualitative analysis was carried out inductively, using thematic analysis. In addition, the identified topics were analysed using the concept of the cancer patient journey. Ten themes were identified which are divided into information, service and care needs. While needs of the three identified medical themes are, for the most part, adequately answered, this does not apply to needs of the remaining seven themes. The findings clearly demonstrate that the German health infrastructure still holds a lot of potential for improvement regarding answering information, service and care needs for young adults with cancer.