JOPHON CNE (2021 Sept/Oct) – Binge Drinking, Tobacco, and Marijuana Use Among Young Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors

JOPHON Courses offer continuing education created from JOPHON, APHON’s acclaimed journal. These courses feature original, peer-reviewed research aimed at enhancing clinical nursing care for children and adolescents with cancer and blood disorders, and their families.

Title: Sep/Oct 2021 Binge Drinking, Tobacco, and Marijuana Use Among Young Adult Childhood Cancer Survivors: A Longitudinal Study

Author(s): Christopher Cappelli, PhD, MPH, Kimberly A. Miller, PhD, MPH, Anamara Ritt-Olson, PhD, Mary A. Pentz, PhD, Sofia Salahpour, MPH, and Joel E. Milam, PhD

Course Overview: This course presents a study on substance use among young adult childhood cancer survivors. The study explores the effects of chemotherapy on substance use behaviors and highlights the increased risk of health issues in this population. Childhood cancer survivors initially show lower rates of tobacco, marijuana, and binge drinking compared to their peers, but these rates increase over time. The study also found that greater intensity of chemotherapy is associated with a decreased likelihood of alcohol and binge drinking among survivors. This research underscores the importance of monitoring substance use patterns in childhood cancer survivors and tailoring interventions to address their unique needs.

Learning Outcomes:

• Discuss the substance use in adolescents and young adult childhood cancer survivors. 
• Distinguish between the use of tobacco, binge drinking, and marijuana childhood cancer survivors.  
• Discuss how the intensity of chemotherapy treatments received by childhood cancer survivors impacts the incidence of substance use in this population.  

APHON will provide 1 nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hour(s) for the successful completion of this course. Successful completion of:

• JOPHON Article Review
• Post-Test
• Evaluation