Web-Based Patient Self-Reported Outcome After Radiotherapy in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer: Survey on Acceptance of Digital Tools

Communication Patterns and Influencing Factors Between Chronically Ill Adolescents and Their Parents: A Scoping Review

AIMS

Parent-adolescent communication is vital for the self-management of chronically ill adolescents. However, evidence regarding communication patterns and influencing factors between adolescents with chronic diseases and their parents remains limited. This study aims to synthesise and summarise these patterns and factors.

DESIGN

A scoping review.

DATA SOURCES

A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases, including CINAHL, PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and China Wanfang Database, from inception to August 2024.

RESULTS

Twenty-three articles were included. Three distinct communication patterns between adolescents with chronic illness and their parents were identified: avoidant, intrusive and open. Additionally, three categories of factors influencing these communication patterns were summarised: adolescent-related factors (gender, age, disease condition and psychological status), parent-related factors (gender, education level, employment condition, disease knowledge and psychological status) and social support.

CONCLUSIONS

This review underscores that avoidance and intrusion represent two negative communication patterns related to disease within the parent-adolescent dyad relationship, highlighting the need for targeted interventions based on the identified influencing factors to ameliorate these patterns. In addition, some understudied areas were recognised, which warrant further exploration.

IMPLICATION FOR THE PROFESSION/PATIENT CARE

Nurses are encouraged to enhance parents' disease education to improve their communication self-efficacy and reduce the occurrence of avoidant parent-adolescent communication. In addition, facilitating parental empowerment in disease management for their adolescent children is essential, as it contributes to avoiding intrusive communication behaviours. The psychological status of both adolescents and their parents has also been found to be crucial to parent-adolescent communication, which in turn exerts a profound impact on their mental well-being, warranting additional attention from nurses.

REPORTING METHOD

Reporting was adhered to the EQUATOR guidelines, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Oncologic treatment support via a dedicated mobile app: a prospective feasibility evaluation (OPTIMISE-1)

BACKGROUND

Mobile health (mhealth) is gaining interest, with mobile devices and apps being ever more available among medical facilities and patients. However, in the field of radiation oncology, the medical benefits of mhealth apps are still underexplored. As an additional approach to patient care during radiotherapy, we designed a mobile treatment surveillance app based on patient-reported outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to examine the feasibility of app-based treatment surveillance in patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT). Alongside technical practicability and acceptance, we assessed patient satisfaction and quality of life during treatment.

METHODS

This prospective single-center study was performed at Heidelberg University Hospital between August 2018 and January 2020. During RT we measured patients' quality of life, symptoms, and treatment satisfaction. Respective questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30 with diagnosis-specific modules, RAND PSQ-18) were presented to patients via a mobile app running on a designated tablet device. The primary endpoint was determined by the fraction of patients who completed at least 80% of the items. Secondary endpoints were disease-related quality of life and patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

A total of 49 cancer patients (14 breast, 13 pelvic, 12 lung, 10 prostate) were eligible for analysis. 79.6% (95% confidence interval: 66.4-88.5%; n = 39) of all patients completed at least 80% of the items received by the mobile app. A mean of 227.5 ± 48.25 questions were answered per patient. Breast cancer patients showed the highest rate of answered questions, with 92.9% (n = 13) completing at least 80% of the items.

CONCLUSION

Patients showed high acceptance, with 79.6% (n = 39) completing at least 80% of the given items. The use of a mobile app for reporting symptoms and quality of life during RT is feasible and well accepted by patients. It may allow for resource-efficient, detailed feedback to the medical staff and assist in the assessment of side effects over time.

Who Are We Missing: Does Engagement in Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Breast Cancer Vary by Age, Race, or Disease Stage?

INTRODUCTION

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) are used to assess value-based care. Little is known as to whether PROM response in breast cancer reflects the diverse patient population. The BREAST-Q, a validated measure of satisfaction and quality of life, and Recovery Tracker, a postoperative assessment tool, are PROM routinely delivered to all patients undergoing breast surgery at our institution. Here we determine whether response to PROM differs by age, race, language, or disease stage.

METHODS

All patients who had a breast operation between January 2020 and July 2021 were requested to complete the BREAST-Q and Recovery Tracker. Non-responders did not complete the PROM at any timepoint; responders completed 1 or more. Primary outcomes included rates of non-response versus response overall.

RESULTS

Of 6374 patients identified, 5653 (88.7%) responded to either PROM [4366/4751 (91.9%) BREAST-Q; 2746/3384 (81.1%) Recovery Tracker]. On univariate analysis, non-responders were older (60 years versus 55 years, p < 0.001) and more often non-English speaking (p < 0.001), Hispanic ethnicity (p = 0.031), and Black race (p < 0.001), versus responders. On multivariate analysis, non-responders were significantly more often Black race and non-English speaking (p < 0.001). Non-English speakers were significantly less responsive among all ethnicities and races except Black race. Although breast cancer stage did not reach significance for response, patients with malignant disease and those receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy responded more often.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate high patient engagement using 2 different PROM following breast surgery, but suggest that PROM results may not reflect the experience of the entire breast cancer population. Care process changes based solely on PROM should consider these findings to ensure that the views of the entire spectrum of patients with breast cancer are represented.

The interior environment design for entrepreneurship education under the virtual reality and artificial intelligence-based learning environment

Nowadays, with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), entrepreneurship education has attracted more and more attention from society. To this end, it is necessary to gradually transform the traditional teaching mode into a new type of teaching that is more innovative, practical, and inclusive and in line with entrepreneurship education. The focus of the teaching mode change is on the optimization of the teaching environment. For this purpose, a method derived from distributed virtual reality (DVR) technology is specially designed. It refers to the fact that multiple users can join together through a computer network and participate in a virtual space at the same time to experience the virtual experience together. Based on this, the distributed 3D interior design is innovatively proposed. The innovation is mainly reflected in the application of VR technology, which is different from traditional software design. According to the functions and needs of the entrepreneurship teaching environment, first, the distributed feature information is collected, and second, the corresponding color image model is constructed by the fusion method, and edge contour detection and corresponding feature data extraction are carried out for the distributed image. Using a Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) color decomposition method, the pixel feature decomposition of spatially distributed image color is performed. And the feature reorganization of the 3D point cloud is combined to optimize the color space and color features of the combined design. On this basis, the distributed 3D interior design system is designed with VR and visual simulation technology. Finally, the Three-Dimensional Studio Max (3ds MAX) is used to establish 3D modeling, and the modeling software Multigen Creator is adopted to carry out the hierarchical structural design. The test results manifest that the Normalized Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and information saturation of the distributed 3D interior design are reduced by 0.2 compared with the traditional design, the time overhead is shortened to one-sixth of the original, and the effect is more in line with the design requirements. It is hoped that this design method can provide new ideas and new perspectives for the optimization of the entrepreneurship teaching environment.