Deploying the Behavioral and Environmental Sensing and Intervention for Cancer Smart Health System to Support Patients and Family Caregivers in Managing Pain: Feasibility and Acceptability Study

Abstract

Background Distressing cancer pain remains a serious symptom management issue for patients and family caregivers, particularly within home settings. Technology can support home-based cancer symptom management but must consider the experience of patients and family caregivers, as well as the broader environmental context. Objective This study aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of a smart health sensing system—Behavioral and Environmental Sensing and Intervention for Cancer (BESI-C)—that was designed to support the monitoring and management of cancer pain in the home setting. Methods Dyads of patients with cancer and their primary family caregivers were recruited from an outpatient palliative care clinic at an academic medical center. BESI-C was deployed in each dyad home for approximately 2 weeks. Data were collected via environmental sensors to assess the home context (eg, light and temperature); Bluetooth beacons to help localize dyad positions; and smart watches worn by both patients and caregivers, equipped with heart rate monitors, accelerometers, and a custom app to deliver ecological momentary assessments (EMAs). EMAs enabled dyads to record and characterize pain events from both their own and their partners’ perspectives. Sensor data streams were integrated to describe and explore the context of cancer pain events. Feasibility was assessed both technically and procedurally. Acceptability was assessed using postdeployment surveys and structured interviews with participants. Results Overall, 5 deployments (n=10 participants; 5 patient and family caregiver dyads) were completed, and 283 unique pain events were recorded. Using our “BESI-C Performance Scoring Instrument,” the overall technical feasibility score for deployments was 86.4 out of 100. Procedural feasibility challenges included the rurality of dyads, smart watch battery life and EMA reliability, and the length of time required for deployment installation. Postdeployment acceptability Likert surveys (1=strongly disagree; 5=strongly agree) found that dyads disagreed that BESI-C was a burden (1.7 out of 5) or compromised their privacy (1.9 out of 5) and agreed that the system collected helpful information to better manage cancer pain (4.6 out of 5). Participants also expressed an interest in seeing their own individual data (4.4 out of 5) and strongly agreed that it is important that data collected by BESI-C are shared with their respective partners (4.8 out of 5) and health care providers (4.8 out of 5). Qualitative feedback from participants suggested that BESI-C positively improved patient-caregiver communication regarding pain management. Importantly, we demonstrated proof of concept that seriously ill patients with cancer and their caregivers will mark pain events in real time using a smart watch. Conclusions It is feasible to deploy BESI-C, and dyads find the system acceptable. By leveraging human-centered design and the integration of heterogenous environmental, physiological, and behavioral data, the BESI-C system offers an innovative approach to monitor cancer pain, mitigate the escalation of pain and distress, and improve symptom management self-efficacy. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/16178

Patient and families’ perspectives on telepalliative care: A systematic integrative review

“…The included studies ( n = 44) comprised of 19 qualitative, 3,4,27,32 –47 5 quantitative 48 –52 and 20 mixed-methods studies, 53 –74 spanning 18 countries in; North America, 4,39 –41,46–48,50,53–56,58,59,61–63,65,66,68 …”

“… 50 One study used remote monitoring alone. 74 Three studies pertained to perceived opinions and expectations to telepalliative care and therefore, technology was not categorised. 27 , 33 , 41 Characteristics of included studies are available in Supplemental File 2 .…”

“…Several studies explored asynchronous solutions, such as apps, websites, patient portal systems, social media platforms and online forums, which could be provider or non-provider led. 33 , 34 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 50 , 54 – 56 , 60 , 61 , 65 , 72 – 74 Some patients and families felt well supported by traditional services, families and friends, whereas others availed of online communities to avoid burdening loved ones, or found traditional services unavailable. 37 Online forums and social media provided unique and alternative resources for people who wished to connect with others, 33 , 38 , 44 or sought support in ‘navigating the cancer experience’.…”

“…The included studies (n = 44) comprised of 19 qualitative, 3,4,27,32-47 5 quantitative [48][49][50][51][52] and 20 mixedmethods studies, spanning 18 countries in; North America, 4,[39][40][41][46][47][48]50,[53][54][55][56]58,59,[61][62][63]65,66,[68][69][70][71][72][73][74] South America, 51 Europe, 3,27,[33][34][35][36][37][38]49,52,57,60 Africa, 32,44 Asia 45,67 and Australia. 64 The palliative care context was broad including; specialised palliative care in hospital and home settings (n = 19), 3,...…”

Challenges and Opportunities in Designing and Deploying Remote Health Monitoring Technology for Older Adults With Cancer

“…In our previous pilot work designed to monitor pain in patients with advanced cancer, we found that the monitoring process itself can serve as a form of intervention. For example, even though we were not delivering a traditional intervention related to a patient’s pain, our postdeployment evaluations revealed that simply monitoring pain with our sensor system improved communication and awareness of symptom management within dyads ( 22 ) .…”