Reclaiming Our Role After the Storm: Shaping Research Informing Psychosocial Oncology  

By Amy E. Corveleyn, MSW, LICSW, and Chiara Acquati, PhD, LMSW 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had critical consequences on cancer care delivery, including altered treatment protocols and delayed services that can affect quality of life and long-term survival. The last two years have also had significant effects on our field: we faced the pressure to develop innovative approaches to psychosocial care delivery, while also coping with increasing demands, burnout and isolation. All in a landscape where the relationship with knowledge and evidence has changed, and at a time when we strive to document and disseminate our experiences and the contributions we brought to changed practices.  

Amid a stormy night at the AOSW Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Research Special Interest (SIG) group met in person for the first time in three years. Attendees ranged from accomplished PhD researchers to curious oncology social workers. Dr. Chiara Acquati, the current research director and chair of the research committee, and Amy Corveleyn, co-chair of the SIG, led an hour-long meeting to discuss how the SIG can better serve the interests of the membership, with the aim to understand current areas of interest and barriers experienced when engaging in research activities. The AOSW Research Committee seeks to promote and support research efforts within AOSW and the oncology social work field. Its membership includes researchers, clinician scientists/practitioners and patient advocates. The Research SIG is designed to help promote research and encourage those who are newer to research to think more broadly as clinicians. Membership of this SIG includes researchers, oncology social workers interested in research and oncology social workers who want to strengthen the research component of their job. Members of the Research Committee can also be members of the SIG. Along with Amy Corveleyn, Hee Yun Lee, PhD, also co-chairs the group. 

The meeting started with introductions as attendees described the work they are doing and their connection to research. From there, discussion moved to the type of research that attendees are practicing and for those not involved in research what they would be interested in if they could begin a research project. Those in attendance mirrored the diverse and ever evolving areas of practice in oncology social work, with interests in care delivery models, caregiving, patient-reported outcomes, integrative oncology, health equity for medically underserved populations, in addition to implementation science, genetics, and quality improvement. Attendees then discussed self-report barriers to research that they encountered in their agencies or at this time of their careers. The discussion was an opportunity to share how research was or was not being considered under the professional role of OSWs in their setting. Not surprisingly, time was consistently listed as a barrier to research within the job. Attendees spoke candidly about the barriers to beginning a research project including finding time among clinical, administrative and personal commitments, while navigating the institutional regulations for the conduct of research in their settings and lack of resources (both in terms of training, mentorship, and access to tools/software). 

Reflecting on this conversation and the common themes that characterize the experience of emerging as well as senior colleagues, it became apparent to us that it was important to create a place to share about our research efforts, learn from each other, and where formal and informal mentorship can happen. As a first step in this direction, we are happy to share the launching of the Research Collaborative Series, an informal monthly meeting organized jointly by the Research Committee and the Research SIG to create a sense of community among oncology social workers interested in research and to address topics of interest/barriers that emerged from this time together, ultimately building research capacity. Our first gathering will focus on acing a successful abstract for next year’s conference, and we look forward to seeing you all there!  Join us this week on Zoom  for Disseminating Our Knowledge: Acing the AOSW Abstract Submission, Nov 18, 2022 noon Central Time (US and Canada).