PhD research Jennifer Fitzpatrick thinks that the switch to remote and hybrid working models has enabled research to have greater reach and impact.
With a BSc in physical activity and health sciences, and experience working with cancer charities, sports clubs and research groups, Jennifer Fitzpatrick is well placed to complete her PhD, which looks at physical activity programmes for children and adolescents who have had cancer.
With co-funding from the Irish Cancer Society and the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), Fitzpatrick is developing a patient-centred programme to boost the health and wellbeing of young cancer survivors.
“The inclusion of the lived experience in research is so important,” she says.
“Patient and public involvement (PPI) in research is growing, ensuring higher research quality. The inclusion of young people who have had cancer and their parents in this research resulted in improved research relevance and quality for those who will directly benefit.”
The findings from this research will give people useful information to advocate for supports and services “to address the negative side effects of cancer and its treatment, which families are living with and finding difficult to self-manage”, she says.
Here, she tells us more about her research.
Tell us about your current research.
Research shows regular participation in physical activity after cancer can positively impact young people’s physical health and wellbeing. Despite this, rates of adherence to the recommended physical activity guidelines are as low as 8-40pc among young people who have had cancer.
Limited programmes are available to support young people to be active after cancer and this represents a missed opportunity to optimise their health outcomes. Of the available programmes, only a minority have consulted with young people in their development, and while some studies cite the use of a behavioural theory to develop their physical activity programme, few have provided detailed reporting regarding how theory has been applied. This information is essential in understanding why physical activity programmes have, or have not, worked and is vital to inform decisions regarding the expansion of programme delivery.
The team who I work with and I have developed the ‘Childhood and adolescent cancer survivors’ physical activity and movement programme’ (CHAMPs), in collaboration with families, to support young people (aged 10-19 years) who have had cancer. CHAMPs is a home-based multi-component programme which includes: personalised activity sessions; home-based educational workshops; interactive action planning workshops; and an information booklet and exercise kit bag.
CHAMPs has been delivered for a 12-month period since March 2024, to young people who have been affected by cancer and their families. To examine the impact of CHAMPs, assessments occur at four time-points: before and after CHAMPs, and three and six months following programme completion.
Young people complete questionnaires examining their quality of life, fatigue and physical activity, and physical function tests including ones which measure their fitness, balance, strength and mobility. Results from these assessments will be available in summer 2025.
In your opinion, why is your research important?
With an increase in the burden of cancer during youth projected for the future, the need for supports and services like CHAMPs which can counteract the negative impact of cancer and its treatment for young people, has never been greater. The Irish Cancer Society’s Strategic Plan (2020-2025) prioritises living well after cancer treatment and improving quality of life.
CHAMPs is in direct support of the society’s goal to achieve this for young people who have had cancer.
The ‘Framework for the Care and Support of Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) with Cancer in Ireland 2021-2026’ also prioritises and highlights the urgent need for supports and services which improve quality of life for young people who have had cancer in Ireland. CHAMPs is also aligned with this policy’s ‘benchmark of success’ as it provides supportive and tailored care which is evidence-based and meets the unique needs of AYAs who have had cancer and their families. Through its systematic and rigorous development process, CHAMPs provides a patient-centred, evidence-based and theoretically informed programme which is suitable for scaling up and rolling out at national and international levels.
To the team’s knowledge, CHAMPs is the first programme worldwide for young people who have had cancer that has been developed according to the pillars of being patient-centred, theoretically informed and evidence-based.
Given the dearth of evidence in this space, this research bridges an identified gap as the first home-based supervised physical activity programme for young people who have had cancer. Developed through a systematic approach, with young people at the core of its creation, the intervention development process has been meticulously documented and will be published to advance the science and reporting of gold standard intervention development procedures.
What inspired you to become a researcher?
I completed an internship in the Priority Research Centre in Physical activity and Nutrition in the University of Newcastle, Australia during the third year of my undergraduate degree. This internship was an eye-opening experience that revealed insights into the world of research, which sparked an interest for a career in this area.
Under the guidance of Dr Mairéad Cantwell and Dr Kieran Dowd, from TUS, I began discussing and researching PhD opportunities during the final year of my undergraduate degree in 2020.
In June 2021, under the supervision of Dr. Mairéad Cantwell, Dr. Kieran Dowd, Professor Niall Moyna and Ms. Cliona Godwin, I was successful in being awarded a PhD scholarship from the Irish Cancer Society.
My motivation for researching health behaviours in cancer stems from both academic and personal motivations, through both family experiences of cancer and the opportunity during my undergraduate degree to learn about the beneficial effect of health enhancing behaviours on young people who have had cancer.
What are some of the biggest challenges or misconceptions you face as a researcher in your field?
One challenge of working in this area is the emotional challenges of supporting children and adolescents who have had cancer. These young people may be living with extensive side effects after treatment and it is really difficult to see the impact on families, and how currently, there is limited support available to them.
Given the nature of cancer and its treatment, unfortunately it can re-occur and young people who you’ve supported can be on a palliative treatment pathway.
I believe it is so important that people who support members of this community avail of relevant supports to emotionally process the impact of working with young people who have had cancer in this regard. This includes availing of counselling services and seeking support from your team who have experience working in cancer and have navigated the same difficulties.
Do you think public engagement with science and data has changed in recent years?
Personally, I think the shift to a more remote or hybrid work/research environment has opened the horizons for greater reach and impact. As a result of the greater acknowledgment of online work, and most being aware of online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, this allows for additional research methods to be utilised.
One element of my research involved completing interviews with families across the island of Ireland through an online video platform. Prior to the shift and acceptance of online work, I believe this would have been a greater challenge and potentially may have limited the reach of this work.
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