Designing a Mobile Health App for Patients With Dysphagia Following Head and Neck Cancer: A Qualitative Study

Constantinescu, Gabriela; Loewen, Irene; King, Benjamin T.; Brodt, Chris; Hodgetts, William E.; Rieger, Jana

doi:10.2196/rehab.6319

Cited by 31 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…One barrier to adherence may be the total number of exercises required in the day (i.e. daily dose) [ 44 ]. Clinicians should recommend a prehabilitation program that balances the number of exercises required to create functional gains with one that patients can complete successfully.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehabilitation in head and neck cancer patients: A literature review

Loewen

Jeffery

Rieger

et al. 2021

Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery

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Background Dysphagia is one consequence of head and neck cancer that has a significant impact on quality of life for head and neck cancer survivors. While survival rates continue to improve, focus has shifted to maximizing long-term function, with prevention or prehabilitation programs becoming more common. Prehabilitation programs typically include an exercise regime that specifies the exercise type, the number of repetitions to complete per set, the number of sets of each exercise to complete per day, as well as the length of the treatment block. Ideally, exercise programs are designed with principles of neuromuscular plasticity in mind. Methods Twenty-nine original research articles published between 2006 and 2020 were included in this state-of-the-art review and examined for program timing and details. Results Two definitions for prehabilitation were noted: one third of the studies defined prehabilitation as preventative exercises prior to the start of acute cancer treatment; the remaining two thirds defined prehabilitation as treatment concurrent prehabilitation. Exercises prescribed ranged from general stretching and range of motion exercises, to trismus and swallowing specific exercises. The most common swallowing specific exercise was the Mendelsohn’s maneuver, followed by the effortful swallow, Shaker, and Masako maneuver. The most common dose was 10 repetitions of an exercise, three times per day for the duration of radiation therapy. The most common measures were questionnaires, followed by g-tube dependence, mouth opening, and MBS reports. Conclusion This review of the literature has shed light on the variability of prehabilitation timing, exercise type, dose, duration of treatment, and outcomes associated with prehabilitation, making the selection of an optimal prehabilitation program difficult at this time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehabilitation in head and neck cancer patients: A literature review

Loewen

Jeffery

Rieger

et al. 2021

Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery

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“…This may help enhance motor learning and improve engagement with therapy [46,47]. Biofeedback systems in cancer rehabilitation should be codesigned with users for specific clinical contexts to ensure that they are meaningful, accessible, and clinically effective [48,49]. Including appropriate elements of gamification (eg, points and levels) in the software development process may help promote engagement and adherence in some cohorts [50,51].…”

Section: Cancer Patient Carementioning

confidence: 99%

A Research Roadmap: Connected Health as an Enabler of Cancer Patient Support

Signorelli¹,

Lehocki²,

Fernández³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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The evidence that quality of life is a positive variable for the survival of cancer patients has prompted the interest of the health and pharmaceutical industry in considering that variable as a final clinical outcome. Sustained improvements in cancer care in recent years have resulted in increased numbers of people living with and beyond cancer, with increased attention being placed on improving quality of life for those individuals. Connected Health provides the foundations for the transformation of cancer care into a patient-centric model, focused on providing fully connected, personalized support and therapy for the unique needs of each patient. Connected Health creates an opportunity to overcome barriers to health care support among patients diagnosed with chronic conditions. This paper provides an overview of important areas for the foundations of the creation of a new Connected Health paradigm in cancer care. Here we discuss the capabilities of mobile and wearable technologies; we also discuss pervasive and persuasive strategies and device systems to provide multidisciplinary and inclusive approaches for cancer patients for mental well-being, physical activity promotion, and rehabilitation. Several examples already show that there is enthusiasm in strengthening the possibilities offered by Connected Health in persuasive and pervasive technology in cancer care. Developments harnessing the Internet of Things, personalization, patient-centered design, and artificial intelligence help to monitor and assess the health status of cancer patients. Furthermore, this paper analyses the data infrastructure ecosystem for Connected Health and its semantic interoperability with the Connected Health economy ecosystem and its associated barriers. Interoperability is essential when developing Connected Health solutions that integrate with health systems and electronic health records. Given the exponential business growth of the Connected Health economy, there is an urgent need to develop mHealth (mobile health) exponentially, making it both an attractive and challenging market. In conclusion, there is a need for user-centered and multidisciplinary standards of practice to the design, development, evaluation, and implementation of Connected Health interventions in cancer care to ensure their acceptability, practicality, feasibility, effectiveness, affordability, safety, and equity.

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“…Two studies describe the development [63] and the verification [64] of apps aiming at reducing dysphagia after tumor therapy. In the 1 st article, important functions of an app for therapy of dysphagia were identified that were based on structured interviews with the affected individuals [63]. They contained biofeedback, a clear description of the pathologies, and instructions for exercises.…”

Section: Studies On Apps Regarding Swallowingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medizinische Apps in der HNO-Heilkunde

Rak¹,

Völker²,

Taeger³

et al. 2019

Laryngo-Rhino-Otol

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ZUsAmmenfAssUng Die Nutzung mobiler Informations-und Kommunikationstechnologie im Kontext medizinscher und gesundheitsnaher Dienstleistungen, z. B. in Form von Apps, gewinnt, leider jedoch häufig unter Missachtung notwendiger Qualitätskriterien, immer mehr an Bedeutung. So erscheint es wichtig, dass neben einer die Anwendungssoftware kontrollierenden Instanz möglichst hoch qualifizierte Akteure des Gesundheitswesens bei der Erstellung mitwirken. Schon aus Haftungsgründen muss der beratende Arzt eine hohe Sorgfalt bei der Auswahl und Empfehlung einer App walten lassen, gerade auch in Anbetracht der Tatsache, dass nur wenige Apps als Medizinprodukt zertifiziert sind. Auf dem Markt gibt es eine große Anzahl an medizinischen Apps, wobei nur ein geringer Anteil dieser auf den Fachbereich HNO-Heilkunde entfällt. Prozentual sind die Teilbereiche Audiologie, Schlafmedizin und Allergologie am häufigsten vertreten. Obwohl sich der Fachbereich der HNO-Heilkunde zunehmend mit dieser Thematik wissenschaftlich auseinandersetzt, fehlt, wie generell bei vielen medizinischen Apps, eine wissenschaftliche Evidenz der Inhalte und Ergebnisse. Es gibt jedoch für Anwender weitere Möglichkeiten, medizinische Apps nach definierten Qualitätskriterien in verschiedenen Kategorien, wie z. B. Funktionalität, Wissenschaftlichkeit, aber auch Datenschutz, zu beurteilen. Keine der mittels eines solchen Bewertungstools evaluierten Apps erfüllte alle geforderten Kriterien, dem Anwender steht jedoch hiermit ein Instrument zur besseren Einschätzung der Anwendungssoftware zur Verfügung. Im Rahmen des Entwicklungsprozesses einer medizinischen App für den HNO-Bereich war es jedoch möglich, die Qualitätskriterien zu berücksichtigen. Zusammenfassend soll die vorliegende Arbeit einen Überblick über Thema "Apps in der HNO-Heilkunde" ermöglichen mit dem Ziel, dieses moderne Hilfsmittel nutzbringend einsetzen zu können. ABsTRAcTThe implementation of mobile information and communication technology in the field of health services, e. g. in the form of apps, is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately, the necessary quality criteria are often mising. Thus, it seems important, that in addition to an app controlling authority highly qualified health care professionals participate in the development of these applications. For reasons of liability, however, the physician must exercise great caution in the selection and recommendation of medical apps, especially considering, that only a few apps are certified as medical devices. There are a large number of medical apps on the market, with only a small proportion being assigned to the field of otorhinolaryngology. The areas of audiology, sleep medicine and allergology are most frequently represented. Althouhgh there is increasing scientific work on this topic in the field of otorhinolaryngology, there is a lack of scientific evidence of contents and results, as is generally the case of medical apps.However, there are other possibilities for users to rate medical apps regarding defined qualitiy criteria such as f...

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Designing a Mobile Health App for Patients With Dysphagia Following Head and Neck Cancer: A Qualitative Study

Cited by 31 publications

References 15 publications

Prehabilitation in head and neck cancer patients: A literature review

Prehabilitation in head and neck cancer patients: A literature review

A Research Roadmap: Connected Health as an Enabler of Cancer Patient Support

Medizinische Apps in der HNO-Heilkunde

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