Caregiver Communication About Cancer: Development of a mhealth resource to support family caregiver communication burden

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to illustrate an evidence-based and theoretically informed mhealth resource (smartphone app) designed to provide communication support for informal cancer caregivers (friends or family members). Methods: An eight-step process was conducted: (a) review of existing print resources, (b) selection of theoretical framework for content development, (c) integration of stakeholder feedback and literacy assessment into an alpha print model, (d) review of existing mhealth resources, (e) development of prototype, ( f ) assessment of caregiver acceptability (n = 5), (g) assessment of quality and perceived impact by cancer providers (n = 26), and (h) acceptability testing with caregivers (n = 6). Results: Key stakeholders were integrated throughout development and user testing of this iOS smartphone app. The smartphone app consists of talking tips and resources for caregiver communication with the patient, family, far away family, and health care providers, as well as general information sharing features.Conclusions: This study demonstrates feasibility and development of an evidencebased and theory-driven mhealth resource to support caregiver communication about cancer. This is the first theory-driven mhealth application created to support the communication burden experienced by cancer caregivers. A larger study is needed to establish the efficacy of the app as an intervention for caregivers.

Caring for the caregiver: a systematic review characterising the experience of caregivers of older adults with advanced cancers

“…Engaging technological advancements and the pervasiveness of smartphones in culture and healthcare opens the opportunity to develop smartphone apps that serve as resources for caregivers when communicating with all stakeholders including medical team, friend and family, both near and far. 41 …”

“…After analysing a dataset including 187 cancer ICs, only 20% of ICs at baseline felt that they were 'well informed' regarding providing cancer care and 16% felt confident in their ability to provide home care and arrange home services. 41 At 4-month follow-up, up to 54% of ICs considered themselves informed and approximately half felt confidence in home care abilities and service arranging. 41 Of the ICs who received formalised caregiving education, 98% found that it helped them fulfil their role as an IC.…”

“…41 At 4-month follow-up, up to 54% of ICs considered themselves informed and approximately half felt confidence in home care abilities and service arranging. 41 Of the ICs who received formalised caregiving education, 98% found that it helped them fulfil their role as an IC. This study also found that as caregiving tasks increased, IC burden perception remained unchanged and that over time IC personal health perceptions improved.…”

“…Engaging technological advancements and the pervasiveness of smartphones in culture and healthcare opens the opportunity to develop smartphone apps that serve as resources for caregivers when communicating with all stakeholders including medical team, friend and family, both near and far. 41 Improving the model of healthcare delivery The movement towards outpatient oncology treatment centred on the occasional infusion or orally administered medication is intuitively associated with fewer prescheduled opportunities for contact between the patient/caregiver and the medical team, barring a complicating event significant enough to warrant communication. Models of care that demonstrate an improved patient and caregiver experience centre around turning the tide on this movement and increasing the number of prespecified occasions for communication between these.…”

Mobile applications for managing symptoms of patients with cancer at home: A scoping review

“…The studies included came from six different countries: Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Kenya, Philippines and the United States. Almost all of the papers were studies that developed and tested a mobile app (Andebe et al, 2017;Beck et al, 2017;Chung et al, 2018;Fishbein et al, 2017;Fortier et al, 2016;Gustafson et al, 2017a;Santin et al, 2019;Slater et al, 2018;Sogono et al, 2018;Wittenberg et al, 2018). After reviewing the literature, three major themes were identified: mobile apps development and how they work; available features; and benefits of using mobile apps.…”