Demands and Needs for Psycho-Oncological eHealth Interventions in Women With Cancer: Cross-Sectional Study

Needs and Demands for e-Health Symptom Management Interventions in Patients with Post-COVID-19 Condition: A User-Centered Design Approach

Introduction: Post-COVID-19 is an increasing chronic disease for which potential treatment options require further development and examination. A well-established approach to symptom management in post-COVID-19 patients could be e-Health interventions. To enhance the implementation and utilization of e-Health interventions, the needs and demands of patients should be taken into consideration. The aim of this study was to investigate needs and demands of post-COVID-19 patients concerning e-Health symptom management interventions. Methods: A total of 556 patients participated in this cross-sectional online survey study. Recruitment was performed from January 19 to May 24, 2022. Data related to the needs and demands for e-Health interventions were analyzed, along with medical and sociodemographic information. Results: The majority of the patients preferred interventions accessible on smartphones (95.3%). The favored content formats were applications (82.7%), interactive training (69.3%), or audio and video materials (61.1%). Furthermore, the preferred session length was about 10-20 min. The most desired topics included "quality of life," "information about how intensively I may exert myself or do sports," "adjustment to new life situation," and "handling physical changes." Conclusions: This study provides a detailed framework for the content and design of e-Health interventions to support patients managing their post-COVID-19 symptoms. The findings could significantly influence the further development of tailored e-Health interventions to address this pressing global health concern.

Analysing breast cancer survivors’ acceptance profiles for using an electronic pillbox connected to a smartphone application using Seintinelles, a French community-based research tool

Introduction: Up to 50% of breast cancer (BC) survivors discontinue their adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) before the recommended 5 years, raising the issue of medication non-adherence. eHealth technologies have the potential to support patients to enhance their medication adherence and may offer an effective way to complement the healthcare. In order for eHealth technologies to be successfully implemented into the healthcare system, end-users need to be willing and accepting to use these eHealth technologies.

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the current usability of eHealth technologiesin and to identify differences in BC SURVIVORS BC survivors accepting a medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology to support their AET to BC survivors that do not accept such a medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology.

Methods: This study was conducted in 2020 including volunteering BC survivors belonging to the Seintinelles Association. Eligible participants were women, diagnosed with BC within the last 10 years, and been exposed to, an AET. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology acceptance profiles among BC survivors. The dependent variable was defined as acceptance of an electronic pillbox connected to a smartphone application (hereafter: medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology).

Results: Overall, 23% of the participants already use a connected device or health application on a regular basis. The mean age of the participants was 52.7 (SD 10.4) years. In total, 67% of 1268 BC survivors who participated in the survey declared that they would accept a medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology to improve their AET. BC survivors accepting a medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology for their AET, are younger (OR = 0.97, 95% CI [0.95; 0.98]), do take medication for other diseases (OR = 0.31, 95% CI [0.13; 0.68]), already use a medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology or technique (OR = 1.74, 95% CI [1.06; 2.94]) and are willing to possess or currently possess one or more connected devices or health applications (OR = 2.89, 95% CI [2.01; 4.19]).

Conclusion: Understanding acceptance profiles of BC survivors is fundamental for conceiving an effective eHealth technology enhancing AET among BC survivors. Hence, such profiling will foster the development of personalized medication adherence enhancing eHealth technology.

Perioperative enhanced recovery programmes for women with gynaecological cancers

BACKGROUND

Gynaecological cancers account for 15% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in women worldwide. In recent years, increasing evidence demonstrates that traditional approaches in perioperative care practice may be unnecessary or even harmful. The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme has therefore been gradually introduced to replace traditional approaches in perioperative care. There is an emerging body of evidence outside of gynaecological cancer which has identified that perioperative ERAS programmes decrease length of postoperative hospital stay and reduce medical expenditure without increasing complication rates, mortality, and readmission rates. However, evidence-based decisions on perioperative care practice for major surgery in gynaecological cancer are limited. This is an updated version of the original Cochrane Review published in Issue 3, 2015.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the beneficial and harmful effects of perioperative enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes in gynaecological cancer care on length of postoperative hospital stay, postoperative complications, mortality, readmission, bowel functions, quality of life, participant satisfaction, and economic outcomes.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the following electronic databases for the literature published from inception until October 2020: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, AMED (Allied and Complementary Medicine), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Scopus, and four Chinese databases including the China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), WanFang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Weipu Database. We also searched four trial registration platforms and grey literature databases for ongoing and unpublished trials, and handsearched the reference lists of included trials and accessible reviews for relevant references.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared ERAS programmes for perioperative care in women with gynaecological cancer to traditional care strategies.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently screened studies for inclusion, extracted the data and assessed methodological quality for each included study using the Cochrane risk of bias tool 2 (RoB 2) for RCTs. Using Review Manager 5.4, we pooled the data and calculated the measures of treatment effect with the mean difference (MD), standardised mean difference (SMD), and risk ratio (RR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) to reflect the summary estimates and uncertainty.

MAIN RESULTS

We included seven RCTs with 747 participants. All studies compared ERAS programmes with traditional care strategies for women with gynaecological cancer. We had substantial concerns regarding the methodological quality of the included studies since the included RCTs had moderate to high risk of bias in domains including randomisation process, deviations from intended interventions, and measurement of outcomes. ERAS programmes may reduce length of postoperative hospital stay (MD -1.71 days, 95% CI -2.59 to -0.84; I2 = 86%; 6 studies, 638 participants; low-certainty evidence). ERAS programmes may result in no difference in overall complication rates (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.48 to 1.05; I2 = 42%; 5 studies, 537 participants; low-certainty evidence). The certainty of evidence was very low regarding the effect of ERAS programmes on all-cause mortality within 30 days of discharge (RR 0.98, 95% CI 0.14 to 6.68; 1 study, 99 participants). ERAS programmes may reduce readmission rates within 30 days of operation (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.90; I2 = 0%; 3 studies, 385 participants; low-certainty evidence). ERAS programmes may reduce the time to first flatus (MD -0.82 days, 95% CI -1.00 to -0.63; I2 = 35%; 4 studies, 432 participants; low-certainty evidence) and the time to first defaecation (MD -0.96 days, 95% CI -1.47 to -0.44; I2 = 0%; 2 studies, 228 participants; low-certainty evidence). The studies did not report the effects of ERAS programmes on quality of life. The evidence on the effects of ERAS programmes on participant satisfaction was very uncertain due to the limited number of studies. The adoption of ERAS strategies may not increase medical expenditure, though the evidence was of very low certainty (SMD -0.22, 95% CI -0.68 to 0.25; I2 = 54%; 2 studies, 167 participants).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Low-certainty evidence suggests that ERAS programmes may shorten length of postoperative hospital stay, reduce readmissions, and facilitate postoperative bowel function recovery without compromising participant safety. Further well-conducted studies are required in order to validate the certainty of these findings.

Chinese Cancer Patients' Attitudes Toward Psychotherapy and Their Willingness to Participate in Clinical Trials of Psychotherapy

Introduction

Psychotherapy is considered part of the standard treatment of cancer in Western countries. However, there is no literature on the attitudes of Chinese cancer patients toward psychotherapy.

Methods:

In a multicenter, cross-sectional study in China, a homemade questionnaire was delivered to cancer patients. The targeted population was Chinese hospitalized cancer patients who were informed of their state of illness.

Results

Five hundred and fifty cancer patients received our questionnaire, and 83.3% completed the questionnaire. Among the 458 patients, 43.2% indicated that they had never heard of psychotherapy before the survey. However, after a brief introduction of psychotherapy, most (92.1%) cancer patients indicated that psychotherapy is essential for cancer patients, and over half of patients (57.4%) were willing to take psychotherapy on the advice of the oncologist in charge. Participants aged 45 years or younger, had a family income > 10000 yuan per month, and had an ECOG PS (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status) of 2-4 were more willing to receive psychotherapy. Of all patients, 59.2% and 57.6% were willing to participate in individual and group psychotherapy clinical trials, respectively. Participants who had a bachelor’s degree or higher (odds ratio, OR = 2.09) and were aged 45 years or younger (OR = 1.67) were more willing to participate in individual and group psychotherapy clinical trials, respectively.

Conclusion

The unmet psychological needs of cancer patients in China remain high, and doctors’ advice is likely to positively impact the patients’ acceptance of psychotherapy. Psychological education for Chinese cancer patients should be strengthened. More high-quality clinical trials of psychotherapy should be conducted in China to achieve greater benefits for cancer patients and their families.

Mindfulness and skills-based eHealth intervention to reduce distress in cancer-affected patients in the Reduct trial: Intervention protocol of the make it training optimized

INTRODUCTION

Cancer-affected patients experience high distress due to various burdens. One way to expand psycho-oncological support is through digital interventions. This protocol describes the development and structure of a web-based psycho-oncological intervention, the Make It Training optimized. This intervention is currently evaluated in the Reduct trial, a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

METHODS

The Make It Training optimized was developed in six steps: A patient need and demand assessment, development and acceptability analysis of a prototype, the formation of a patient advisory council, the revision of the training, implementation into a web app, and the development of a motivation and evaluation plan.

RESULTS

Through a process of establishing cancer-affected patients' needs, prototype testing, and patient involvement, the Make It Training optimized was developed by a multidisciplinary team and implemented in a web app. It consists of 16 interactive self-guided modules which can be completed within 16 weeks.

DISCUSSION

Intervention protocols can increase transparency and increase the likelihood of developing effective web-based interventions. This protocol describes the process and results of developing a patient-oriented intervention. Future research should focus on the further personalization of web-based psycho-oncological interventions and the potential benefits of combining multiple psychotherapeutic approaches.

Effects of Psychoeducational Interventions Using Mobile Apps and Mobile-Based Online Group Discussions on Anxiety and Self-Esteem in Women With Breast Cancer: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Psychoeducation has turned into an effective tool in taking care of cancer patients and improving their psychophysical symptoms and quality of life. Despite the growing use of mobile phone apps in medical settings for improving health, evidence supporting their effectiveness in the psychoeducation of patients with breast cancer is rarely available.

Objective

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of psychoeducational interventions on anxiety and self-esteem in women with breast cancer using a mobile app and an online support group.

Methods

An unblinded randomized controlled trial based on mobile phones was conducted in Shiraz, Iran. A research assistant recruited 82 women with nonmetastatic breast cancer aged 20 to 60 years were from clinics during a face-to-face visit at the point of care and randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=41) and a wait-list control group (n=41) through blocked randomization. The intervention group received psychoeducational interventions through a mobile phone app and participated in nurse-assisted online mobile support sessions for a total four weeks, whereas the control group was put on a waiting list. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to measure the levels of anxiety and self-esteem as the main outcomes at baseline and one week after the intervention.

Results

A total of 82 patients with a mean age of 46.45 (SD 9.29) years recruited in Winter 2016 were randomly assigned to a wait-list control group (n=41) and intervention group (n=41). Five patients dropped out for different reasons. Comparing the postintervention mean scores of anxiety and its subscales using the independent t test showed statistically significant differences between the mobile psychoeducation group and controls (P<.001). The paired t test used to compare the postintervention mean scores of anxiety with its preintervention scores in the intervention group showed significant reductions in the scores of anxiety (95% CI –17.44 to –8.90, P<.001, d=1.02) and its two subscales (state anxiety: 95% CI –9.20 to –4.21, P<.001, d=0.88 and trait anxiety: 95% CI –8.50 to –4.12, P<.001, d=0.94). Comparing the postintervention mean scores of self-esteem showed statistically insignificant differences between the control and intervention groups (16.87 vs 17.97, P=.24). In contrast with the controls, using the paired t test showed that the increase in the postintervention mean scores of self-esteem were statistically significant in the intervention group compared with the preintervention scores (mean difference 2.05, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.82, P<.001).

Conclusions

This study demonstrated the key role of mobile apps in decreasing anxiety and improving self-esteem in women with breast cancer through psychoeducational interventions. Similar studies with longer follow-ups are recommended that be conducted in this context.

Trial Registration

Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT2015072123279N2; https://en.irct.ir/trial/19882

Supporting Medical Staff from Psycho-Oncology with Smart Mobile Devices: Insights into the Development Process and First Results

Cancer is a very distressing disease, not only for the patients themselves, but also for their family members and relatives. Therefore, patients are regularly monitored to decide whether psychological treatment is necessary and applicable. However, such monitoring processes are costly in terms of required staff and time. Mobile data collection is an emerging trend in various domains. The medical and psychological field benefits from such an approach, which enables experts to quickly collect a large amount of individual health data. Mobile data collection applications enable a more holistic view of patients and assist psychologists in taking proper actions. We developed a mobile application, FeelBack, which is designed to support data collection that is based on well-known and approved psychological instruments. A controlled pilot evaluation with 60 participants provides insights into the feasibility of the developed platform and it shows the initial results. 31 of these participants received paper-based questionnaire and 29 followed the digital approach. The results reveal an increase of the overall acceptance by 58.5% in the mean when using a digital screening as compared to the paper-based. We believe that such a platform may significantly improve cancer patients’ and relatives’ psychological treatment, as available data can be used to optimize treatment.

Web-based MINDfulness and Skills-based distress reduction in cancer (MINDS): study protocol for a multicentre observational healthcare study

INTRODUCTION

Although a high percentage of patients with cancer experience severe psychological distress, few of them receive psycho-oncological care, largely due to barriers on the side of patients and healthcare providers that pose great challenges to delivering such care. In response, low-threshold, self-guided eHealth interventions can enable patients with cancer to deal independently and effectively with disease-related challenges and distress. Mindfulness and Skills-Based Distress Reduction in Oncology Training, nicknamed Make It Training, is one such innovative, self-guided eHealth intervention. In our study, we propose to assess different characteristics of such patients in order to define target populations for Make It Training, evaluate the intervention in terms of its usability, feasibility and sustainability and gather longitudinal data concerning the intervention's efficacy.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Self-guided and web-based Make It Training consists of eight 30 min modules involving the use of techniques of mindfulness therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy to be completed in a 4-month period. In our observational study, adult patients with cancer who possess adequate German language skills and provide their informed consent will be recruited at Essen, Erlangen and Tübingen University Hospitals at outpatient oncological institutions and via online channels. Patients will undergo a baseline online assessment (T0), an assessment directly after completing the intervention (T1) and assessments 3 and 6 months later (T2 and T3, respectively). With the results of those assessments, we will perform descriptive analyses of their sociodemographic and medical data, compare means and conduct regression analyses.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The Ethics Committees of the University Hospitals Essen, Erlangen and Tübingen have approved the study (19-8643-BO, 27_19 B, 293/2018BO1). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

DRKS00017119.

Use of Mental Health Apps by Patients With Breast Cancer in the United States: Pilot Pre-Post Study

Background

Nearly half of the patients with breast cancer experience clinically significant mental distress within the first year of receiving their cancer diagnosis. There is an urgent need to identify scalable and cost-efficient ways of delivering empirically supported mental health interventions to patients with breast cancer.

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of in-clinic recruitment for a mobile phone app study and to evaluate the usability and preliminary impact of a suite of mental health apps (IntelliCare) with phone coaching on psychosocial distress symptoms in patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods

This pilot study adopted a within-subject, 7-week pre-post study design. A total of 40 patients with breast cancer were recruited at a US National Cancer Institute–designated clinical cancer center. Self-reported distress (Patient Health Questionnaire-4) and mood symptoms (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System depression and anxiety scales) were assessed at baseline and postintervention. App usability was assessed at postintervention.

Results

The minimum recruitment threshold was met. There was a significant decrease in general distress symptoms, as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety, from baseline to postintervention. Overall, participants reported high levels of ease of app use and learning. Scores for app usefulness and satisfaction were reinforced by some qualitative feedback suggesting that tailoring the apps more for patients with breast cancer could enhance engagement.

Conclusions

There is a dire need for scalable, supportive interventions in cancer. The results from this study inform how scalable mobile phone–delivered programs with additional phone support can be used to support patients with breast cancer.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

RR2-10.2196/11452

A Novel Mobile Phone App Intervention With Phone Coaching to Reduce Symptoms of Depression in Survivors of Women's Cancer: Pre-Post Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Psychological distress is a major issue among survivors of women's cancer who face numerous barriers to accessing in-person mental health treatments. Mobile phone app-based interventions are scalable and have the potential to increase access to mental health care among survivors of women's cancer worldwide.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a novel app-based intervention with phone coaching in a sample of survivors of women's cancer.

METHODS

In a single-group, pre-post, 6-week pilot study in the United States, 28 survivors of women's cancer used iCanThrive, a novel app intervention that teaches skills for coping with stress and enhancing well-being, with added phone coaching. The primary outcome was self-reported symptoms of depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). Emotional self-efficacy and sleep disruption were also assessed at baseline, 6-week postintervention, and 4 weeks after the intervention period. Feedback obtained at the end of the study focused on user experience of the intervention.

RESULTS

There were significant decreases in symptoms of depression and sleep disruption from baseline to postintervention. Sleep disruption remained significantly lower at 4-week postintervention compared with baseline. The iCanThrive app was launched a median of 20.5 times over the intervention period. The median length of use was 2.1 min. Of the individuals who initiated the intervention, 87% (20/23) completed the 6-week intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

This pilot study provides support for the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of the iCanThrive intervention. Future work should validate the intervention in a larger randomized controlled study. It is important to develop scalable interventions that meet the psychosocial needs of different cancer populations. The modular structure of the iCanThrive app and phone coaching could impact a large population of survivors of women's cancer.

Promoting Emotional Well-Being in Older Breast Cancer Patients: Results From an eHealth Intervention

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with increases in diagnoses at all ages. Due to several age-related factors, older breast cancer patients show particular difficulties in adjusting to breast cancer and its related treatments. One consistent indicator of vulnerability to long-term complications is emotional distress occurring within 3 months of diagnosis. Thus, it is critical to develop early interventions specifically aimed at mitigating distress and promoting emotional wellbeing in older breast cancer patients. By taking advantage of the opportunities of online interventions, the present study aimed to test the efficacy of a 2 weeks e-health stress inoculation training (SIT) intervention on emotion regulation and cancer-related well-being, compared with a control group without such intervention. Twenty-nine women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, who had received radical surgery and who were suitable candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy with anthracyclines and taxanes (mean age = 62.76; SD = 6.19) voluntarily took part in the current study after giving written informed consent. To test intervention efficacy, self-report questionnaires were administered to all participants at baseline, at the end of the 2 weeks intervention, and 3 months after the end of the intervention. Results showed that after 2 weeks of ehealth intervention, patients did not achieve significant change, however, they significantly reduced emotional suppression and increased cancer-related emotional well-being 3 months after the end of the intervention. Furthermore, by monitoring at a distance the emotional experience during the online intervention, we found an increase in relaxation and a reduction of anxiety. Finally, patients in the experimental group reported a good level of acceptance of the ehealth intervention. To conclude, designing and developing eHealth interventions as part of the regular care path for breast cancer patients of all ages represents both a challenge and an opportunity; in particular, online interventions can be an important step in universal psychosocial care within a tiered model of care.