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Developing a web-based sexual health support program (AURORAS) for urogenital cancer survivors

Project description

Digital support for life after urogenital cancer

Urogenital cancers impact middle-aged adults; individuals report undergoing debilitating pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, and limited access to specialised follow-up care. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the AURORAS project will develop a web-based sexual health support program (WBSHP) to address the unmet psychosexual needs of urogenital cancer survivors. Specifically, it will develop a WBSHP programme and evaluate the feasibility of a pilot study. The project will conduct interviews and use a number of participatory methods to evaluate the programme’s efficacy. The pilot aims to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and confirm safety and intervention benefit for pelvic, mental, and sexual health, with follow-up to see if there is an overall improvement in quality of life at three different sites in Iran.

Objective

Urogenital neoplasms, common in middle-aged patients, cause pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction. limited access to specialized services for urogenital cancer survivors (UGCS), necessitating alternative ways. Using a mixed-methods design and participatory design approach, this project will integrate 3 studies and aim to develop a web-based sexual health support program (WBSHP) based on survivors’ unmet psychosexual needs and to determine its acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy in managing pelvic pain and sexual function difficulties, ultimately intended to promote pelvic, mental, and sexual health and QoL in UGCS and their partners.
Study 1 is a systematic literature review, following PRISMA guidelines, and will inform studies 2 and 3. Aims to summarize existing literature on online and e-mental and sexual health care services for promoting pelvic, mental, and sexual health of UGCS. Study 2 is a qualitative thematic analysis, conducted via in-depth interviews with a group of UGCS and their partners with maximum variation and focus groups with health care providers to explore the impact of UG cancers on survivors’ QoL and their unmet psychosexual care needs and to develop an evidence-based intervention program, integrated with the systematic literature review results, tailored to their needs. Study 3 is a pilot study assessing the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of a co-developed WBSHP intervention (AURORAS) among UGCS and their partners. Eligible participants, recruited from 3 research sites in Iran, after ethical approval, informed consent, and pre-test assessment will be randomized to either the experimental group receiving intervention (N = 30) or the waiting list group receiving treatment as usual (N = 30). Mid-test, post-test assessments, and follow-up at 3 months after program completion will be conducted. The waiting list group will receive AURORAS access and the same treatment protocol after 8 weeks of randomization.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDADE DO PORTO
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 207 183,12
Address
PRACA GOMES TEIXEIRA
4099-002 PORTO
Portugal

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Region
Continente Norte Área Metropolitana do Porto
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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