University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom.
Centre for Medical Education, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2019 Jul 31;7(7):e14187. doi: 10.2196/14187.
The shift from inpatient to outpatient and community cancer care means that more patients with cancer need to manage their condition at home, without the direct supervision of their clinician. Subsequently, research has reported that many patients with cancer have unmet information needs during their illness. Mobile devices, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, provide an opportunity to deliver information to patients remotely. Before designing an app intervention to help patients with cancer to meet their information needs, in-depth qualitative research is required to gain an understanding of the views of the target users.
We aimed to develop an app intervention to help patients meet their illness-related information needs in noninpatient settings. This study explored the information needs of patients with cancer and their preferences for an app and desired app features. Specifically, the perceived acceptability of an app, desired app features, and the potential benefits and disadvantages of, and barriers to, an app were explored.
Qualitative, one-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted with patients with urological, colorectal, breast, or gynecological cancers (N=23) across two hospitals in South Wales. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic analysis.
Findings indicated that barriers to information exchange and understanding in consultations, and identification of reliable information sources between consultations, appeared to contribute to patients' unmet information needs. Consequently, app feature suggestions included a question prompt list, a glossary of cancer terms, a resources feature, and a contacts feature. Anticipated benefits of this type of app included a more informed patient, improved quality of life, decreased anxiety, and increased confidence to participate in their care. The anticipated barriers to app use are likely to be temporary or can be minimized with regard to these findings during app development and implementation.
This study highlights the desire of patients with cancer for an app intervention to help them meet their information needs during and between consultations with their clinicians. This study also highlights the anticipated acceptability and benefits of this type of intervention; however, further research is warranted.
从住院患者到门诊和社区癌症护理的转变意味着更多的癌症患者需要在家中管理自己的病情，而无需临床医生的直接监督。随后，研究报告称，许多癌症患者在患病期间有未满足的信息需求。移动设备，如手机和平板电脑，为向患者远程提供信息提供了机会。在设计帮助癌症患者满足其信息需求的应用程序干预措施之前，需要进行深入的定性研究，以了解目标用户的观点。
我们旨在开发一种应用程序干预措施，以帮助癌症患者在非住院环境中满足其与疾病相关的信息需求。本研究探讨了癌症患者的信息需求以及他们对应用程序的偏好和所需的应用程序功能。具体来说，探讨了应用程序的可感知接受度、所需的应用程序功能以及应用程序的潜在益处、缺点和障碍。
在南威尔士的两家医院对患有泌尿系统、结直肠、乳腺或妇科癌症的患者（N=23）进行了一对一的半结构化访谈。访谈进行了录音、转录，并使用主题分析进行了分析。
研究结果表明，咨询中信息交流和理解的障碍以及咨询之间识别可靠信息来源，似乎导致了患者未满足的信息需求。因此，应用程序功能建议包括问题提示列表、癌症术语词汇表、资源功能和联系人功能。这种类型的应用程序的预期益处包括患者更知情、生活质量提高、焦虑减轻以及更有信心参与自己的护理。预计使用该应用程序的障碍可能是暂时的，或者在应用程序开发和实施过程中，可以针对这些发现将其最小化。
本研究强调了癌症患者对应用程序干预措施的需求，以帮助他们在与临床医生的咨询期间和之间满足其信息需求。本研究还强调了这种干预措施的预期可接受性和益处；然而，还需要进一步的研究。
