EHealth Acceptance and New Media Preferences for Therapy Assistance Among Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

BackgroundElectronic health (eHealth) and mobile communication-based health care (mHealth) applications have been increasingly utilized in medicine over the last decade, and have facilitated improved adherence to therapy regimens in patients with chronic conditions. Due to the long duration of breast cancer therapy, and the long course of disease in metastatic breast cancer, a need for more intensified physician-patient communication has emerged. Various support mechanisms, including new media such as mHealth and eHealth, have been proposed for this purpose.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between sociodemographic factors, as well as health status of breast cancer patients, and their current utilization of new media, or their willingness to use Internet and mobile phone apps for improvement of therapy management.MethodsThe survey for this study was conducted anonymously during the 2012 Mamazone Projekt Diplompatient meeting (Augsburg, Germany), which hosted approximately 375 participants per day. A total of 168 questionnaires were completed. The questionnaire aimed to assess sociodemographic status, disease patterns, and current use of new media (ie, Internet, mobile phone, and mobile phone apps) in breast cancer patients. Habits and frequency of use for these new technologies, as well as patients’ affinity towards eHealth and mHealth tools for therapy management improvement, were investigated.ResultsAlmost all participants used the Internet (95.8%, 161/168), with 91.5% (151/165) also utilizing this technology for health-related issues. Approximately 23% (38/168) of respondents owned a mobile phone. When asked about their preferences for therapy assistance, 67.3% (113/168) of respondents were interested in assistance via the Internet, 25.0% (42/168) via mobile phone, and 73.2% (123/168) via call center. Patients diagnosed with breast cancer <5 years before the survey were significantly more interested in a call center than patients diagnosed >5 years before survey participation.ConclusionsThe vast majority of breast cancer patients accept the Internet for therapy assistance, which indicates that eHealth is a promising medium to improve patient-physician communication. Such technologies may improve individual disease management and ultimately lead to an enhanced adherence to therapy regimens.

Promoting Emotional Well-Being in Older Breast Cancer Patients: Results From an eHealth Intervention

“…This result is similar to finding in other studies suggesting that Internet acceptance has reached an older age group, probably because patients older than 60 years are currently more familiar with the Internet than reported in previous studies ( Santana et al, 2011 ), and indicates that the use of the Internet for health-related questions appears to be feasible for most patients ( Drewes et al, 2016 ). In future years, with the increase of Internet access and computer literacy in society, we expect a growing interest in therapy assistance via digital health platforms.…”

“…The Internet has become an accessible source for individuals to research information, including for their medical issues, and patients with cancer are among the most frequent such users ( Drewes et al, 2016 ). This reflects the development of Internet educational programs available for breast cancer patients that, at the moment, are focused mostly on increasing patients’ knowledge through information related to both the disease and the procedures ( Warren et al, 2014 ).…”

Mobile Phone Apps for Quality of Life and Well-Being Assessment in Breast and Prostate Cancer Patients: Systematic Review

“…In general, cancer patients positively value the use of Internet-based technologies for health care management and feel comfortable using them [ 22 ]. Breast cancer patients usually use this technology to seek general information, search for therapies or scientific data, and exchange information with other patients [ 23 ]. Authors have also pointed out the importance of including customizable functionalities in mobile phone apps in order to manage care-related information so that these features can be easily modified depending on changes in the user’s needs [ 24 ].…”

Demands and Needs for Psycho-Oncological eHealth Interventions in Women With Cancer: Cross-Sectional Study

“…Additionally, cancer survivors were positive toward ePOAs that enable them to enhance their own QoL and support them in finding tailored supportive care [ 57 ]. It was shown that eHealth applications are well accepted for therapy assistance in general (like patient-physician communication) and eHealth programs as a part of usual health care may be promising [ 29 , 50 , 57 ]. A promising result of our study is that a substantial group of participants in need of supportive care prefer ePOAs for the delivery of adequate psychosocial care.…”

“…Cancer patients represent a growing proportion of health information seekers [ 30 , 35 ]. Over the last decade, a growing body of studies regarding the application of eHealth [ 29 , 36 , 37 ] and different online interventions [ 38 ] have been published and are widely used in psycho-oncological care [ 39 ]. While online searches for cancer information, eHealth applications, and online interventions in psycho-oncological care are more common, less is known about cancer patients’ real demands for online and offline psycho-oncological interventions [ 38 , 40 ].…”