Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jun 7, 2020
Date Accepted: Nov 9, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Cancer patients’ perceived value of a smartphone app to enhance the safety of home-based chemotherapy, a qualitative feasibility study
ABSTRACT
Background:
To explore how a smartphone app, developed through a stepwise, iterative process, can help patients using oral chemotherapy to take the drug, and report on adherence and side effects in a reliable and verifiable manner.
Objective:
To explore how a smartphone app, developed through a stepwise, iterative process, can help patients using oral chemotherapy to take the drug, and report on adherence and side effects in a reliable and verifiable manner.
Methods:
Fourteen patients starting capecitabine treatment were included in this study and used the smartphone app in addition to the regular follow-up of capecitabine treatment. Nine of these patients fulfilled the treatment plan and were interviewed based on a semi-structured interview guide and the System Usability Scale (SUS). In addition, two focus groups were completed, with 7 oncologists and 7 oncology nurses, respectively. Interview data were analyzed in accordance with the principles of systematic text condensation. Features of the application were also assessed.
Results:
The smartphone app provided the patients a feeling of reassurance regarding correct adherence of their oral chemotherapy treatment. They used the app as a memory tool about their treatment and possible serious side effects, as well as for treatment education. Patients expressed concerns about using the app to report side effects that were not considered to be obviously serious, fearing over reporting. The health personnel expressed an overall positive attitude to integrate this new tool in their everyday work.
Conclusions:
Patients on oral chemotherapy treatment at home felt safe and found the app helpful. The app promoted learning about their treatment and made the patients more independent of the Cancer Clinic, making them less dependent on health personnel with limited resources for follow-up of patients on oral anticancer medications. Clinical Trial: N/A
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.