title: Adventure therapy for adolescents with cancer.
abstract: The objective of this study was to describe adolescents' with cancer experience in an adventure therapy program from a health related quality of life (HRQL) perspective. A qualitative descriptive research method was used. Eleven adolescents and five health professionals participated in a guided group adventure therapy expedition in a remote area of Canada. The expedition was videotaped and data were collected using an unstructured interview format with both adolescents and health professionals. Emerging themes were identified using a qualitative descriptive exploratory analysis. Four major themes and related sub-themes were generated. The major themes were: developing connections, togetherness, rebuilding self-esteem, and creating memories. Adventure therapy was viewed by the adolescents and health care professionals as a positive experience with multiple benefits. This preliminary research will contribute to an understanding of adolescents' experiences with cancer and provide a basis for future studies evaluating the impact of adventure therapy on HRQL.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kagan
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: Madelyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beamer
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bilodeau
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baruchel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D019368:Nature; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011998:Recreation