Promoting psychosocial health for youth with cancer

The Development and Psychosocial Outcomes Lab, directed by Dr. Kaitlyn (Katy) Fladeboe, is dedicated to identifying and addressing the unique psychological, social, and developmental needs of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer. Applying principles of developmental psychology and behavioral medicine, our goal is to develop and disseminate evidence-based supportive care programs to enhance well-being and mitigate suffering for AYAs and their family members.

Our lab is integrated within the Seattle Children’s Behavioral and Clinical Outcomes Research Program (BCORP), a multidisciplinary team of investigators with a common goal of improving outcomes and promoting whole-person care in pediatric oncology.

Research Projects

Addressing AYA Social Health Needs

This study aims to develop and test a behavioral program to address social health needs of AYAs newly diagnosed with cancer.

Social well-being is an important contributor to both mental and physical health. Unfortunately, many adolescents and young adults (AYAs) face social challenges during and after their cancer treatment. The goal of this project is to adapt a psychosocial program to address social health needs of AYAs recently diagnosed with cancer. The first phase uses a patient-centered approach to develop and refine this adaptation. The second phase is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine if the adapted program is feasible, acceptable and has potential to improve social well-being.

Contact Us

If you are interested in working with our team, please email kaitlyn.fladeboe@seattlechildrens.org.