A Mobile App (AMOR Mama) for Women With Breast Cancer Undergoing Radiation Therapy: Functionality and Usability Study

Abstract

Background Mobile apps targeting women with breast cancer can facilitate access to information, improve well-being, and record reports of treatment-related symptoms. However, it is important to confirm the benefits of these apps before they are used as a tool in clinical care. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the functionality and the usability of a mobile app created to guide and monitor patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy. Methods The evaluation process of the mobile app was performed in 2 steps with 8 professionals, including nurses, physician, medical physicists, and communication networks engineer. The first step was the focus group, which allowed obtaining suggestions proposed by the participants regarding the improvement of the mobile app. The second step was the individual filling in of an evaluation tool to obtain objective measures about the mobile app. A minimum concordance index of 80% was considered to ensure the adequacy of the material. Results After the mobile app was evaluated by 8 professionals, only 1 item of the evaluation tool, that is, concerning the potentiality of the app to be used by users of different educational levels, obtained a concordance index <80%. Conclusions The mobile app titled “AMOR Mama” was considered suitable, which suggests its contribution to an educational health technology to guide and monitor patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy. More studies with this target population should be carried out to assess the performance and quality of the mobile app during its use.

Content features and its implementation in novel app-based psycho-oncological interventions for cancer survivors: a narrative review

“…Other apps have integrated important links or phone numbers to healthcare providers [30] or allow patients to connect with other cancer survivors [20]. A content features that was implemented only by few apps was a medication schedule and reminder option [22,32].…”

“…Only apps for adolescence and adult cancer patients were included. In total, we included 19 studies out of 564 for this narrative review [20,21 ▪ ,22–24,25 ▪▪ ,26,27 ▪▪ ,28 ▪ ,29 ▪ ,30–32,33 ▪ ,34 ▪▪ ,35,36,37 ▪▪ ,38].…”

Aplikasi Smartphone sebagai Sarana Promosi Kesehatan Kanker dengan Terapi Radiasi

“…desain grafis dengan mekanisme yang terencana dengan baik memberikan interaksi spontan dan intuitif dengan pengguna, antarmuka aplikasi dirancang sederhana, mudah dimengerti, tampak menyenangkan dan menarik. Tanpa desain grafis yang memadai, aplikasi untuk perangkat mobile mungkin cukup fungsional, tetapi tidak akan menarik dan, pada gilirannya, tidak akan memiliki kegunaan yang baik (Cruz et al, 2021).…”

A Scoping Review and a Taxonomy to Assess the Impact of Mobile Apps on Cancer Care Management

“…Mobile apps offer several benefits, including the ability to gather self-reported measures, providing user-friendly experiences, tools for managing personal health, immediate access to vital data, and reducing potential research biases [ 14 , 15 ]. Moreover, real-time mHealth apps offer more personalized care by providing relevant healthcare information at a low cost, and they encourage patients to meet the goals established by healthcare professionals [ 16 , 17 ].…”