Social Sciences

Developing fertility preservation technologies have a direct effect on cancer patient's experiences when facing potential infertility or sterility. Social scientists have been involved with the Oncofertility Consortium® since its inception, providing parallel scholarhip to accompany scientific and technological developments and proving an integral part of the Oncofertility Consortium® team. The Oncofertility Consortium® is dedicated to understanding how technological developments will translate into clinical practices, and supports a number of social science research initiatives that explore the various aspects of this transition.

The Oncofertility Consortium® recognizes that society is always in flux, and thus understands that social science research is continually evolving. If you are a social science scholar interested in pursuing a novel research aim related to oncofertility, or have questions or comments about our existing research projects, please contact us

Oncofertility Consortium® Social Science Projects

Our existing social science research efforts are diverse and innovative, providing a critical lens to examine oncofertility within the larger social context, and include:

 - An economic investigation looking at willingness to pay for fertility preservation technologies in an overall attempt to gauge how fertility preservation technologies will be incorporated into the existing healthcare marketplace

 - A communications study examining how families facing a child's cancer diagnosis decide whether or not to pursue fertility presrevation treatments and the role healthcare practitioners play in this decision

 - A sociological study assessing how adult women diagnosed with cancer and their doctors discuss issues regarding fertility and make treatment choices, and how fertility impacts women's lives after cancer

 The Oncofertility Consortium® also hosts a monthly telephone conference for researchers and physicians to discuss the current and emerging issues associated with fertility preservation for pediatric and adolescent patients. If you would like to become involved with the Pediatric/Adolescent Task force, please contact us.

For a complete description of the social science projects currently supported by the Oncofertility Consortium® please visit our Social Sciences, Humanities & Oncofertility page

 

Selected Oncofertility Publications
Since its inception less than a decade ago, the field of Oncofertility and its associated research has burgeoned. As a testament to Oncofertility’s far reach and broad scope, we have published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews, book chapters, as well as two books on the subject.  These publications span several disciplines including basic science, clinical medicine, social science, and the humanities.  Here you will find our most recent relevant publications related to the social sciences.

 

View selected Social Science Oncofertility publications

Presentations
In July 2009, the Oncofertility Consortium® hosted a robust summit that brought together scholars from the humanities, social sciences, and the basic and clinical sciences to examine the complex issues raised by recent developments in the field of oncofertility and to provide interdisciplinary perspectives to help shape the understanding and delivery of this new field. Papers from this summit are available in our Virtual Library.

 

Visit our Virtual Library

Media Archive
Click the link below to view media related to social science projects within the Oncofertility Consortium, including recordings of presentations during the 2007-2009 annual Oncofertility Consortium Conferences, the Oncofertility Consortium’s Virtual Grand Rounds, and Webinars.

 

View Media for Social Scientists