Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Background: Childhood brain tumors and leukemia make up over half of pediatric cancer cases, affecting about 750 children annually in Canada. While survival rates have improved, most of these children experience long-term cognitive challenges such as difficulties with memory, attention, and executive functioning. These issues can significantly impact their quality of life. Unfortunately, there are no widely accessible programs to address these cognitive deficits. Families require a program that is affordable, easy to use, and effective in improving brain function after cancer treatment. Objective: This study will evaluate Dino Island (DI), a novel, tablet-based game designed to help childhood survivors of brain tumor or leukemia improve their attention and executive functioning (A/EF). The program is delivered at home with the guidance of a parent/caregiver, who will receive training to be a 'coach' for their child. The goal is to see whether children who use DI show improvement in their cognitive abilities. Methods: The study will include 87 children aged 6-12 years who are 1-5 years post-treatment. Children will be randomly assigned to either the DI group or a control group. Parents will engage with their children in the intervention over the course of eight weeks. Weekly parent meetings led by the research team will ensure proper use of the program and ongoing training. Children's cognitive skills will be assessed at four time points and cognitive change will be measured. Additional measures of mental health and behaviour will be included to determine any subsequent gains. Impact on Health: This study could lead to a widely accessible and effective tool for improving cognitive function in childhood cancer survivors, reducing the need for expensive specialist care. By empowering families to deliver this home-based program, it could improve the quality of life for survivors and ease the burden on healthcare systems.