Research-Tested Mobile Apps for Breast Cancer Care: Systematic Review

Abstract

Background The use of mobile health (mHealth) apps in clinical settings is increasing widely. mHealth has been used to promote prevention, improve early detection, manage care, and support survivors and chronic patients. However, data on the efficacy and utility of mHealth apps are limited. Objective The main objective of this review was to provide an overview of the available research-tested interventions using mHealth apps and their impact on breast cancer care. Methods A systematic search of Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, and Scopus was performed to identify relevant studies. From the selected studies, the following information was extracted: authors, publication date, study objectives, study population, study design, interventions’ features, outcome measures, and results. Results We identified 29 empirical studies that described a health care intervention using an mHealth app in breast cancer care. Of these, 7 studies were about the use of an mHealth application in an intervention for breast cancer prevention and early detection, 12 targeted care management, and 10 focused on breast cancer survivors. Conclusions Our results indicate consistent and promising findings of interventions using mHealth apps that target care management in breast cancer. Among the categories of mHealth apps focusing on survivorship, mHealth-based interventions showed a positive effect by promoting weight loss, improving the quality of life, and decreasing stress. There is conflicting and less conclusive data on the effect of mHealth apps on psychological dimensions. We advocate further investigation to confirm and strengthen these findings. No consistent evidence for the impact of interventions using mHealth apps in breast cancer prevention and early detection was identified due to the limited number of studies identified by our search. Future research should continue to explore the impact of mHealth apps on breast cancer care to build on these initial recommendations.

Development and usability evaluation of an online self‐management intervention for fear of cancer recurrence (iConquerFear)

“…As smartphone usage increases, new interventions may need to be specifically designed for mobile devices rather than relying on responsive web designs that are not fully adaptive to all smartphones. However, adoption of mobile self‐management apps by people with cancer has been limited to date, and there is limited evidence regarding their efficacy in improving psychological outcomes …”

Evaluating a digital tool for supporting breast cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial protocol (ADAPT)

“…(5) To test whether the use of OWise reduces the rate of resource utilization in the first year following diagnosis compared to standard care among patients registered in Discover, an integrated health and social care record in North West London. (6) To test whether the use of OWise reduces the average cost per patient in the first year following diagnosis compared to standard care among patients registered in Discover. 7To describe the change in patient activation in the intervention group compared to the control group in the first year following diagnosis.…”

“…mHealth is the application of mobile technology by patients or health care providers to monitor health and improve outcomes [5]. A recent review has found 12 studies assessing mHealth tools to support self-management in breast cancer patients [6]. Many of the studies assessing mHealth tools found promising results with a wound monitoring application reducing health resource utilization [7], an electronic daily journal stabilizing daily functional activity [8] and an application providing information and support improving selfefficacy and quality of life and reducing symptom interference [9].…”

Design and Development of a Mobile App Framework to Facilitate Breast Cancer-Preventive Behaviors (m-BCPB) in the At-Risk Women: Qualitative Study

“…Model-based intervention supports planners in recognizing theoretic structures to consider in an intervention to extract behavioral modi cation (40,41). Furthermore, the theoretic basis offers an approach to smartphone preventive behavior intervention improvement (42).…”