Feinstein Institute for Medical Research reported on Tuesday the receipt of a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and test a digital health platform to help young female cancer survivors evaluate their options for having children, make decisions and plan for the future.

This five-year, USD693,000 NIH grant was awarded to Feinstein Institute for Medical Research's assistant professor, Catherine Benedict, PhD.

The new female fertility decision tool being created by Dr Benedict and her team in the Center for Health Innovations and Outcomes Research has the potential to be a much-needed aid for the more than 400,000 young adult female cancer survivors currently living in the US, many of whom hope to achieve parenthood someday.

Through the NIH aid, Dr Benedict will develop a web-based fertility decision-making tool for female cancer survivors. The participants under the study will provide feedback and complete surveys to determine if the tool was helpful and whether it led to improved decision-making and lowered distress during the process.

Under the first phase of study, Dr Benedict will work with a development team to build a web-based decision support and planning tool based on the data that examined how young women after cancer treatment made decisions regarding future family-building and the kind of support they wish they had when making those decisions. The second phase will allow female cancer survivors to use the tool in helping them make fertility decisions.

The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, reportedly the largest health care provider in New York.