The goal was to demonstrate the possibility to design and execute a research study to measure some aspect of the impact of the camp experience for our young cancer patients. Our intention is to develop a series of research studies which will strengthen the proof in the published literature (the language of choice for our referring institutions, our medical staff members, and increasingly also our Board members and donors) that what we do at camp is not only great fun for our campers, but also is an important part of their overall healing process on their cancer journey. Our principal goal is to increase the awareness on the part of referring physicians, hospitals, social workers, families of pediatric cancer patients, potential volunteer staff, the public at large, and those with the wherewithal to support our efforts financially of the value of the camp experience for our young cancer patients.

Four camps from three U.S. states and one Canadian province participated in the study, and from my perspective it was an unqualified success in achieving "proof" of the concept that it is possible to do a research study involving multiple camps from within COCA-I and get meaningful results. The study proceeded smoothly, all participating camps were successful in generating useful data, and no significant problems were reported. We are now working with the data to produce a manuscript which we hope will be published in a high impact pediatric oncology related journal.

Overall there were 540 camper participants in this study, 398 "older" campers (aged 10-19) and 142 "younger" campers (aged 6-10). This number illustrates the most significant strength of the multi-camp model, which is that it allows for a much greater sample size which makes the data much more significant. This small pilot that involved only four camps produced one of the largest data sets in the field of special needs camps. If we could successfully involve only a third of the COCA-I camps in such a study, it would be by far the largest study of a medical needs camp population ever published.

The results also confirmed what all of us would expect about our campers' experiences in our programs. The data show that our campers are overwhelmingly positive about their camp experiences, and also that in very large numbers they learn about things that we think are important for them. We focused on friendship skills as an outcome for the older campers, and demonstrated that a very high percentage of the campers felt that their friendship skills (which correlate with their need for social reintegration, peer acceptance, and social support) increased significantly during their time at camp.

The American Camp Association Outcomes Questionnaires were used for this research. The "Older Camper Outcomes Questionnaires – Friendship" was used for the older campers, validated for campers 10 to 18 years of age. This questionnaire is an instrument with 14 questions answered on a 5 point scale referring to how much friendship skills have changed during the camp session.
1 = decreased, 2 = did not increase or decrease, 3 =increased a little bit maybe, 4 = increased some I am sure, and 5 = increased a lot I am sure.

The "Camper Learning Questionnaire" was used for the younger campers. It is validated for campers 6 to 10 years of age. This survey has 14 questions answered on a 4 point scale which ask how much the camper learned about friendship skills, family citizenship, perceived competence, independence, interest in exploration, teamwork, and responsibility. 1 = I didn't learn anything about this, 2 = I'm not sure, 3 = I learned a little about this, and 4 = I learned a lot about this.

The 10 year old campers were eligible for either survey instrument, and the choice was based on cabin assignment (in a cabin of 9 and 10 year olds, the "younger" camper survey was used; in a cabin of10 and 11 year olds, the "older" camper survey was used).

Four camps participated in the study. A demographic sheet was attached to the surveys asking for gender, age, camp session, and number of years of prior camp attendance.

Additionally, the demographic sheet asked the campers to rate how much they enjoyed the overall camp experience on a 1 to 10 scale, where 1 = absolutely the worst and where 10 = the best time ever. Campers obviously were very pleased with the camp experience overall. The large majority of entries were 9 and 10, with several 11's and 12's and one 6,000! Overall, for 248 older campers the response as to how much they enjoyed the camp experience averaged 9.33, which is phenomenal. For the younger campers, this statistic was available only for the 56 campers, and their responses averaged 9.54.The lowest response on any of the demographic sheets for this question was 5.

In both the younger and older camper groups, a large percentage (>87%) felt that they learned a little or a lot about the surveyed domains (younger) or increased their friendship skills at least somewhat (older) during their camp experience. This is a result that we can all be proud of, and data that we can use to convince whoever needs convincing (Board members, parents, doctors, nurses, social workers, volunteers, donors) that we are causing a measurable positive outcome in our campers that will improve the quality of their lives going forward.

So, what's the next step? Now that we have shown that it is possible to get multiple camps to cooperate in a research study without any negative effects on their campers or staff members, we need to reach for the next level. The survey instruments we used are relatively simple, and not unique to our camper population. With a survey instrument specifically tailored to measure outcomes of interest in the medical needs camp setting, and with the participation of a high number of COCA-I camps, I believe that we can do a research study that will have a real impact on the published literature base and move the field toward a more general recognition that camp is an important part of the healing process and facilitates a higher quality of survival for our patients and their families. We are hoping to put together such a study for the summer of 2012. I would love to have your camp participate! If you have any interest, or would like to learn more, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .