Implementation of the Vinehealth application, a digital health tool, into the care of patients living with brain cancer.

Abstract

e13582 Background: Cancers of the brain lead to significant neurocognitive, physical and psychological morbidities. Digital technologies provide a novel platform to capture and evaluate these needs. Mobile health (mHealth) applications typically focus on one aspect of care rather than addressing the multimodal needs of the demographic of these patients. The Vinehealth application aims to address this by tracking symptoms, delivering machine learning-based personalised educational content, and facilitating reminders for medications and appointments. Where mHealth interventions traditionally lack the evidence-based approach of pharmaceuticals, this study acts as an initial step in the rigorous assessment of a new digital health tool. Methods: A mixed methodology approach was applied to evaluate the Vinehealth application as a care delivery adjunct. Patients with brain cancer were recruited from the day of their procedure ± 7 days. Over a 12-week period, we collected real-world and ePRO data via the application. We assessed qualitative feedback from mixed-methodology surveys and semi-structured interviews at onboarding and after two weeks of application use. Results: Six participants enrolled of whom four downloaded the application; four completed all interviews. One patient set up their device incorrectly and so couldn't receive the questionnaires; excluding this patient, the EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLQ-BN20 completion rates were 100% and 83% respectively. Average scores (±SD) at onboarding and offboarding were EQ-5D-5L: 2.07±1.28 and 1.73±1.22, and QLQ-BN20: 13.33 and 22.5. In total: 212 symptoms, 174 activity, and 47 medication data points were captured, and 113 educational articles were read. Participants were generally optimistic about application use. All users stated they would recommend Vinehealth and expressed subjective improvements in care. Accessibility issues in the ePRO delivery system which impacted completion rate were identified and have subsequently been fully addressed. Conclusions: This feasibility study showed acceptable patient use, led to a subjective improvement in care, and demonstrated effective collection of real-world and validated ePRO data. This provides a strong basis to further explore the integration of the Vinehealth application into brain cancer care. This study will inform the design of a larger, more comprehensive trial continuing to evaluate improvements in care delivery through data collection, educational support and patient empowerment.

Design of a Dyadic Digital Health Module for Chronic Disease Shared Care: Development Study

“…Others have created digital therapeutics with similar impact, including Huma for HF [11], Livongo Health for diabetes [12], and Vinehealth for cancer [13,14]. However, for Medly and others [10][11][12][13][14], the challenge remains that these interventions were designed for patient self-management, missing the opportunity to capitalize on the synergistic benefits of dyadic care [15].…”

“…Others have created digital therapeutics with similar impact, including Huma for HF [11], Livongo Health for diabetes [12], and Vinehealth for cancer [13,14]. However, for Medly and others [10][11][12][13][14], the challenge remains that these interventions were designed for patient self-management, missing the opportunity to capitalize on the synergistic benefits of dyadic care [15]. Our previous work identified an opportunity to improve the dyadic experience through a shared model of dyadic digital health, expanding beyond individual HF self-management to include support for ICs [2].…”