An online Symptom Care and Management System to monitor and support patients receiving chemotherapy: A pilot study

Abstract

This pilot study aimed to explore the benefits of an online Symptom Care and Management System (SCMS) in the home monitoring and symptom management of patients receiving chemotherapy. A single-group experimental design was employed, and four patients aged 39-59 years undergoing their first chemotherapy treatment were recruited from one cancer centre in Singapore from November 2010 to February 2011. A mixed method was used to collect patient's data. All patients used the SCMS to record and send daily symptom reports to the cancer centre and receive symptom management advice from the nurse via teleconferencing. Patients' perceptions on the use of the system were evaluated. All participants believed that the system improved the management of their symptom and felt reassured they were being monitored at home. The results presented in this pilot study suggest that the SCMS has the potential to enhance the remote monitoring, feasible and acceptable way for a specific group of cancer patients to manage their symptom at home.

Cancer Survivors’ Experience With Telehealth: A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis

“…The media used within telehealth interventions were heterogeneous: 11 studies appraised telephone-based interventions, [30-32,34,35,42,43,47,49-51], 5 studies related to primarily Web-based interventions, [33,36,39,40,48], 1 study evaluated email communication [37], and 5 looked at interventions using handheld monitoring devices [38,41,44-46]. The purpose of the interventions was diverse and included: 15 which supported patients through treatment; 6 which monitored symptoms [36,38,41,44-46]; and 9 which provided psychological support, information, advice or self-management strategies [33-35,39,40,42,43,47,49]. For 2 studies, telehealth acted as a form of communication between patients and HCPs at various stages of their journey [37,48] and 5 interventions replaced clinic visits for follow-up patients [30-32,50,51].…”

“…Regarding the aims of the 22 studies, 9 explored the views of patients and health care professionals as to the use of telehealth [30,41,44-48,50,51], 9 the experience of only patients [31,32,34-36,38,40,42,43], and 4 the experience of both patients and family members [33,37,39,49]. For 11 studies, the primary aim was to test the acceptability and feasibility of telehealth interventions [33-35,38,41-45,47,48]: 8 focused primarily on the experience of intervention use [30-32,40,46,49-51], and 3 aimed to explore the potential benefits of telehealth [36,37,39].…”

“…For 11 studies, the primary aim was to test the acceptability and feasibility of telehealth interventions [33-35,38,41-45,47,48]: 8 focused primarily on the experience of intervention use [30-32,40,46,49-51], and 3 aimed to explore the potential benefits of telehealth [36,37,39]. Of the 22 studies, 8 were qualitative studies nested within larger trials of telehealth interventions [30,34,38,40,46,47,49,51].…”

“…Of the 22 studies, 8 were qualitative studies nested within larger trials of telehealth interventions [30,34,38,40,46,47,49,51]. The intervention was nurse-led in 16 studies [30-32,34,36-41,43,45,47,49-51], with the remainder involving other health care professionals such as doctors or psychologists.…”

“…This level of convenience was highlighted as especially important for those with caring and work responsibilities [30,31,50]. Web-based or email-based interventions were viewed as flexible as they could be easily logged into at any time, meaning survivors could make contact or complete activities when it suited them and fitted into their lives [33,36,37,39,40,46]. Telehealth interventions were easily integrated into daily routines.…”