TY  - JOUR
AU  - Jones, Helen V
AU  - Smith, Harry
AU  - Cooksley, Tim
AU  - Jones, Philippa
AU  - Woolley, Toby
AU  - Gwyn Murdoch, Derick
AU  - Thomas, Dafydd
AU  - Foster, Betty
AU  - Wakefield, Valerie
AU  - Innominato, Pasquale
AU  - Mullard, Anna
AU  - Ghosal, Niladri
AU  - Subbe, Christian
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/9/25
TI  - Checklists for Complications During Systemic Cancer Treatment Shared by Patients, Friends, and Health Care Professionals: Prospective Interventional Cohort Study
JO  - JMIR Mhealth Uhealth
SP  - e19225
VL  - 8
IS  - 9
KW  - cancer
KW  - patient safety
KW  - checklist
KW  - quality of life
KW  - anxiety
KW  - depression
KW  - health economics
KW  - mHealth
KW  - smartphone
KW  - redundancy
AB  - Background: Advances in cancer management have been associated with an increased incidence of emergency presentations with disease- or treatment-related complications. Objective: This study aimed to measure the ability of patients and members of their social network to complete checklists for complications of systemic treatment for cancer and examine the impact on patient-centered and health-economic outcomes. Methods: A prospective interventional cohort study was performed to assess the impact of a smartphone app used by patients undergoing systemic cancer therapy and members of their network to monitor for common complications. The app was used by patients, a nominated “safety buddy,” and acute oncology services. The control group was made up of patients from the same institution. Measures were based on process (completion of checklists over 60 days), patient experience outcomes (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the General version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy at baseline, 1 month, and 2 months) and health-economic outcomes (usage of appointments in primary care and elective and unscheduled hospital admissions). Results: At the conclusion of the study, 50 patients had completed 2882 checklists, and their 50 “safety buddies” had completed 318 checklists. Near daily usage was maintained over the 60-day study period. When compared to a cohort of 50 patients with matching disease profiles from the same institution, patients in the intervention group had comparable changes in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and General version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy. Patients in the Intervention Group required a third (32 vs 97 nights) of the hospital days with overnight stay compared to patients in the Control Group, though the difference was not significant. The question, “I feel safer with the checklist,” received a mean score of 4.27 (SD 0.87) on a Likert scale (1-5) for patients and 4.55 (SD 0.65) for family and friends. Conclusions: Patients undergoing treatment for cancer and their close contacts can complete checklists for common complications of systemic treatments and take an active role in systems supporting their own safety. A larger sample size will be needed to assess the impact on clinical outcomes and health economics. 
SN  - 2291-5222
UR  - http://mhealth.jmir.org/2020/9/e19225/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/19225
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32975526
DO  - 10.2196/19225
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/19225
ER  -