Effectiveness of a self-management mobile app on the quality of life of women with breast cancer: a study in a developing country

Abstract

Background Self-management involves taking responsibility for personal health and taking the initiative to do so. This can be accomplished by learning information and skills that will help consider the difficulties may encounter during and after cancer treatment. With this perspective, we have aimed to develop a self-management mobile app for women with breast cancer in Iran and evaluate its impact on the quality of life of patients. Method This study is a methodological study in 2021. We developed the app during three phases. The first phase aimed at identifying educational content and designing user experience, the second phase aimed at developing and implementing the app, and the third phase aimed at evaluating pre-and post-implementation. Result In this study, an Android app for self-management women with breast cancer was developed. According to the results of the pre-and post-implementations among the most significant changes were in the quality of life level, highest respectively: social avoidance (Pre: 6.41–Post: 3.56), negative feelings (Pre: 5.93 - Post: 3.40), sexual function (Pre: 6.80 - Post: 5.04), sexual interest (Pre: 6.41 - Post: 4.75) and pain (Pre: 6.37 - Post: 4.97). And least the changes respectively: distress-family (Pre: 7 - Post: 7), distress-recurrence (Pre: 4.49 - Post: 4.38), benefits (Pre: 2.47 - Post: 3.12), appearance (Pre: 4.10 - Post: 3.32). Also, we calculated the usability evaluation of this app with the system usability scale (SUS); the overall rating score was 83/100, an excellent level (> 80.3), and a grade A. Conclusion The study shows that a breast cancer self-management app can support and improve the quality of life of women with breast cancer. We conducted this study to show that by developing a self-management app, women with breast cancer can improve their quality of life, − by increasing their self-management skills.

Identifying factors that affect the use of health information technology in the treatment and management of hypertension

“…low education). This issue is of concern when the information provided by the technology-based product (e.g., educational app) is very specialized or set at a high scientific level; the same makes patients not motivated to use the product [ 10 , 11 ]. It should be noted that information needs assessments are very important before the development of a technology-based product because it is possible to obtain the scientific level and educational desire of patients and provide information to patients [ 11 , 12 ].…”

“…User-friendly design is also a very important issue, some scholars have called it a human rights issue because poor user-friendly design discourages people from developing software [ 28 , 29 ]. Providing warning features help to remind patients to schedule a doctor’s appointment or take time medications [ 11 ]. Among the most important inhibitory factors from the point of view of patients was the problem of accessing the internet and mobile phones; in fact, the speed of the internet and access to a tool that can run the desired app/software is the main requirement for using the designed product.…”

Technology-based self-management interventions for women with breast cancer: a systematic review

“…Among the psychological factors, quality of life was the most frequently measured. However, the instruments used to gauge quality of life varied significantly across the studies [ 31 , 34 , 35 ], complicating the comparison of results. Despite this, the implementation of self-management programs has consistently demonstrated an improvement in quality of life.…”

Managing chronic pain after breast cancer treatments: are web-based interventions the future?

“…Feedback was sought via focus groups Patients found the eHealth program easy to use, supportive and overall was well receivedSignificant improvement in pain-related functioning, physical functioning, and quality of life Mohammadzadeh et al . [44] Cross-sectional descriptive study 24 with a limited age range (51–60) Self-management programme accessed via an android app. The app comprised five main categories including information acquisition, lifestyle management, psychological management, symptom management, and compatibility with changes.…”

“…Mohammadzadeh et al . [44] study involved a self-management programme accessed via an android app. Outcome measure completed before use and after 3 months.…”