Legal Frameworks, Institutional Barriers and Unmet Needs of Young University Students With Cancer in Italy: A Call to Action
Angela Toss, Laura Marziali, Paola Quarello, Giuseppe Maria Milano, Maurizio Mascarin, Alberto Puccini, Marco Maruzzo, Assunta Tornesello, Marco Spinelli, Alexia Francesca Bertuzzi, Alice Indini, Teresa Perillo, Giacomo Giulio Baldi, Marina N. Rosanu, Claudia Colombo, Andrea Ferrari, Fedro Alessandro PeccatoriABSTRACT
University students with cancer in Italy face major barriers in maintaining their academic pathways despite existing disability legislation. This brief communication combines an overview of the Italian legal and institutional context with findings from a community‐led qualitative descriptive needs‐assessment. Following a national social media call, the analysis included semi‐structured interviews with 69 eligible participants. Interviews were documented through contemporaneous written notes and analyzed manually using descriptive content analysis, combining domains from the interview guide with recurrent categories identified in open‐ended responses. Participants described administrative burdens, inconsistent recognition of cancer‐related needs, limited access to remote learning and flexible examinations, marked variability in university support, emotional distress, and social isolation. These findings provide preliminary real‐world evidence of how existing arrangements are experienced by Italian university students affected by cancer. Although specific interventions were not evaluated, the findings may inform the development and prospective assessment of more consistent academic accommodations, accessible information, individualized support, and integrated psychosocial services.