Feasibility and acceptability of a telehealth platform for delivering the Making Sense of Brain Tumour programme: A mixed-methods pilot study

Abstract

Glioma is a common type of brain tumour that is associated with neurocognitive and psychosocial impairments. This study primarily aimed to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a videoconferencing format of the Making Sense of Brain Tumour (Tele-MAST) programme. Recruited from a multidisciplinary brain tumour clinic, participants were randomly allocated to the 10-session Tele-MAST programme or standard care, with the latter group offered Tele-MAST after reassessment. Semi-structured interviews explored participants' experiences of receiving psychological support via the videoconferencing platform. Measures of mental health and quality of life were administered at pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments. Of the 35 patients deemed eligible for the study, 14 (40% accrual) with high grade (71%) or low grade (29%) glioma participated. They were randomized to the Tele-MAST condition (n = 8) or standard care/waitlist (n = 6). Ten individuals commenced the Tele-MAST programme, of whom eight completed ≥8 sessions. The major themes that depicted their experience of the Tele-MAST programme were ease of access and benefits of remote delivery, tailored support and immediacy, and sense of connection versus disconnection. Most participants (63%) demonstrated clinically reliable improvement at postintervention. These preliminary findings support the feasibility and acceptability of remote delivery of psychological support and highlight the need for a larger-scale evaluation of the Tele-MAST programme.

People with cancer and their family caregivers’ personal experience of using supportive eHealth technology: A narrative review

“…eHealth technology was valued for its role in helping users learn about the cancer experience. Participants with cancer found that information provided through eHealth echoed the advice of their healthcare team and standard care, which helped them understand the language around cancer or address their knowledge gaps regarding information they did not initially understand, potentially due to feeling overwhelmed (Brennan et al, 2020;Gustavell et al, 2020;Hauffman et al, 2020;Ownsworth et al, 2020;Ure et al, 2020). A number of studies highlighted that eHealth enabled people with cancer and family caregivers to prepare for hospital visits, navigate the healthcare system and engage more efficiently with the clinical team (Hauffman et al, 2020;Mohsen et al, 2021;Song et al, 2015).…”

“…A number of studies highlighted that eHealth enabled people with cancer and family caregivers to prepare for hospital visits, navigate the healthcare system and engage more efficiently with the clinical team (Hauffman et al, 2020;Mohsen et al, 2021;Song et al, 2015). Additionally, two studies (Fang et al, 2020;Ownsworth et al, 2020) found that people with cancer mentioned completing the web-based psychoeducational platform intended for their use with their family caregiver, which in turn, they believed helped their relative to understand their condition. This parallels with Fergus and colleagues' (2014) finding that one third of male partners took part in the eHealth study to improve their understanding of their partner's breast cancer experience.…”

“…Personalised information was particularly valued for guiding participants with cancer in their individual experiences and goals, as well as the personalised self-care activities they should engage with at home (Gustavell et al, 2020;Ownsworth et al, 2020;Whitehead et al, 2020). eHealth-delivered information was particularly helpful at the beginning of the cancer care trajectory when symptoms were unfamiliar, however, several studies highlighted that its value lessened as treatment progressed and participants become accustomed to their symptom experience (Crafoord et al, 2020;Ngo et al, 2020;Hauffman et al, 2020).…”

“…Conversely, other studies found that technology was easily embedded in their daily routine and personal schedule (Maguire et al, 2020;Ngo et al, 2020;Hauffman et al, 2020), appreciating the option to engage at a time and pace that suited them (Song et al, 2015;Smith et al, 2020a;Drott et al, 2016) and enabled the person with cancer to plan their schedule (Mohsen et al, 2021;Crafoord et al, 2020). Participants with cancer also found benefit from eHealth technology in that they gained time in their own lives and did not have to travel to their treatment centre for supportive care, whereby people with cancer perceived an additionalreduced burden on their family caregivers (Dalby et al, 2021;Ownsworth et al, 2020).…”

“…This sense of connection was also evident in Moshen and colleagues' ( 2021) study of people with cancer and their access to education and personal medical information using eHealth technology. Despite this connection, a resounding sentiment was evident regarding how participants did not want eHealth technology to replace their in-person, face-to-face contact with their healthcare team (Brennan et al, 2020;Dalby et al, 2021;Ownsworth et al, 2020). People with cancer cited that technology may inhibit their ability to detail their individual experienced issues (Dalby et al, 2021;Drott et al, 2016;Crafoord et al, 2020), telephone conversations can feel rushed or encounter language/accent comprehension difficulties (Dalby et al, 2021), written contact with healthcare professionals lack of body language and verbal nuances (Högberg et al, 2015) and pertinent topics may require further discussion such as fear of cancer recurrence (Drott et al, 2016;Smith et al, 2020a) which may be overlooked using technology.…”