Efficacy and cost-utility of the eHealth self-management application 'Oncokompas', helping partners of patients with incurable cancer to identify their unmet supportive care needs and to take actions to meet their needs: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Efficacy and cost-utility of the eHealth selfmanagement application 'Oncokompas', helping partners of patients with incurable cancer to identify their unmet supportive care needs and to take actions to meet their needs: a study protocol of a randomized controlled trial Abstract Background: Incurable cancer does not only affect patients, it also affects the lives of their partners. Many partners take on caregiving responsibilities. The burden of these caregiving tasks are often associated with physical, psychological, and social difficulties and many partners have unmet supportive care needs. Oncokompas is an eHealth self-management application to support partners in finding and obtaining optimal supportive care, tailored to their quality of life and personal preferences. A randomized controlled trial will be carried out to determine the efficacy and cost-utility of Oncokompas.Methods: A total of 136 adult partners of patients with incurable cancer will be included. Partners will be randomly assigned to the intervention group, which directly gets access to Oncokompas, or the waiting-list control group, which gets access to Oncokompas after three months. The primary outcome measure is caregiver burden. Secondary outcome measures comprise self-efficacy, health-related quality of life, and costs. Measures will be assessed at baseline, two weeks after randomization, and three months after the baseline measurement.Discussion: This study will result in evidence on the efficacy and cost-utility of Oncokompas among partners of patients with incurable cancer, which might lead to implementation of Oncokompas as a health service for partners of patients with incurable cancer.

Technology-Based Interventions for Cancer Caregivers: Concept Analysis

“…Before further elaborating on the urgent need for a clear definition of the term technology-based interventions, it is critical to shed light on why there is an urgent need to analyze and define the concept-similar terms (eg, digital health) applied in the research field often harbor deep-rooted issues that could cause confusion among scholars. Overall, a kaleidoscope of terms, such as digital health, eHealth, and mobile health (mHealth), has been used to describe a wide range of health solutions available to cancer caregivers [39][40][41][42][43]. These terms often refer to health solutions in the form of health services or products that are enabled by the internet (eg, emails and web-based appointments), multifunctional devices that are elevated by the connectivity of the internet (eg, smartphones such as the iPhone), or tools and services built upon other networking opportunities (eg, Amazon devices, such as Echo and Tile, developed on low-bandwidth networks such as the Sidewalk framework [44] or Bluetooth technologies).…”

“…To begin with, because of a lack of clear and consistent definitions, these terms can mean different things to different audiences-depending on the specific research contexts, they can be either extremely broad or narrow given that their meanings could vary widely as the research contexts shift (eg, example applications [39][40][41][42][43]). This is particularly true as technology-based tools or services become increasingly flexible and versatile.…”

“…This is particularly true as technology-based tools or services become increasingly flexible and versatile. For instance, depending on the research context, terms such as digital health, eHealth, and mHealth can refer to a broad spectrum of health solutions, ranging from video-based materials on self-care or cancer care management (eg, television programs), web-or telephone-based communication with a wider support circle (eg, health care professionals), journaling in any or many enabling devices, or a hybrid or multicomponent intervention that consists of divergent forms of technology-based interventions [39][40][41][42][43].…”

“…Defining attributes are recurring themes that mirror the heart of concept analysis [43]. On the basis of insights gained from the literature review and data synthesis, accessible [64,65,112], affordable [66,112], convenient [66,67,113], and user-friendly [40,[68][69][70][71]114] The second defining attribute of technology-based interventions was affordability. In addition to resources related to transportation, considering that many technology-based interventions can be accessed free of cost (eg, smartphone app [115]), caregivers often do not have to worry about financial resources needed for them to adopt these interventions [66,112].…”

“…The ability to be accessed whenever and wherever and often without charge subsequently makes technology-based interventions convenient to use and access [66,67,113]. In addition to these traits (ie, accessible, affordable, and convenient), technology-based interventions often adopt a user-friendly design to improve user engagement [40,[68][69][70][71]114], such as incorporating gamification mechanisms that can improve the user experience of cancer caregivers while learning ways to improve their health and well-being.…”