Feasibility of a Smartphone-based pilot intervention for Hispanic breast cancer survivors: a brief report

Abstract

Hispanic breast cancer survivors (BCS) are at high risk for experiencing poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after completion of active breast cancer treatment. Therefore, there is a need to develop culturally tailored interventions for Hispanic BCS. To date, there have been limited interventions that have demonstrated that increasing cancer-related knowledge, self-efficacy in communication, and self-management skills can improve HRQoL among Hispanic BCS. These interventions have been delivered in person or by phone, which may be burdensome for Hispanic BCS. To facilitate intervention delivery, we developed My Guide, a Smartphone application aimed at improving HRQoL among Hispanic BCS. The purpose of the current study is to describe the feasibility results of a 4-week pilot trial testing My Guide among Hispanic BCS. Twenty-five women enrolled in the study (75% recruitment rate) and 22 women were retained (91.6% retention rate). Mean time spent using My Guide across the 4 weeks was 9.25 hr, and mean score on the satisfaction survey was 65.91 (range 42-70), in which higher scores reflect greater satisfaction. Participants' scores on the Breast Cancer Knowledge Questionnaire significantly improved from study baseline (M = 9.50, SD = 2.92) to the postintervention assessment (M = 11.14, SD = 2.66), d = 0.59. Participants' HRQoL scores improved over the course of 4 weeks, but these improvements were not statistically significant. Overall, My Guide was feasible and acceptable. Future studies will assess the preliminary efficacy of My Guide in improving HRQoL in a larger, randomized trial of Hispanic BCS.

Brief culturally informed smartphone interventions decrease breast cancer symptom burden among Latina breast cancer survivors

“…The content focused on efficacy for coping with late effects of cancer treatments, adherence to endocrine therapies, psychosocial adaptation during cancer survivorship, stress management, cancer‐related knowledge, and optimizing social support. The My Guide content was evaluated and refined using a mixed‐methods pilot study, which also demonstrated preliminary feasibility of the study procedures …”

“…In addition, we tracked and averaged participants' usage of the applications across the 6‐week intervention period. Based on a one‐arm pilot study of the My Guide intervention, average usage of at least 90 minutes per week was deemed acceptable.…”

“…My Guide is a culturally informed application that contains evidence‐based information for reducing symptom burden and improving health‐related quality of life. In a nonrandomized longitudinal trial, we previously demonstrated that My Guide is feasible among Latina BCS, and preliminary evidence supports its efficacy for improving intervention targets such as breast cancer knowledge . In order to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of My Guide when compared with an attention‐control condition, our team subsequently developed another application called My Health, which contains evidence‐based education for promoting healthy lifestyles.…”

Optimizing Health Information Technologies for Symptom Management in Cancer Patients and Survivors: Usability Evaluation

“…The welcome video was included based on user feedback gathered early in the course of this usability testing. The majority of the content in My NM Care Corner was derived from previous technology-assisted pilot studies that focused on improving patient symptom management and health-related quality of life among diverse patients with cancer diagnoses [ 12 - 16 ]. In My NM Care Corner, symptoms flagged as elevated based on ePRO responses are visible to users when they access their dashboard.…”

Effect of Mobile Training on the Quality of Life for Women With Breast Cancer

“…Many studies were aimed to assess mHealth apps and their impact on quality of life of women with breast cancer [11][12][13][14][15] . Zhu et al studied the effectiveness of the mobile application-based breast cancer e-support program to support women with breast cancer who received chemotherapy 12,13 .…”