Use a web-app to improve breast cancer risk factors and symptoms knowledge and adherence to healthy diet and physical activity in women without breast cancer diagnosis (Precam project)

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of an educational intervention using a web-app to improve knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and symptoms and adherence to healthy eating and physical activity among women without breast cancer diagnosis in Asturias (Spain). Methods A pragmatic randomized pilot trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of a web-app-based intervention for women without breast cancer diagnosis. Women in the intervention group participated in a 6-month intervention web-app based on the Behaviour Change Wheel Model. The web-app includes information about breast cancer risk factors, early detection, physical activity and diet. Results Two hundred and eighty-fifth women aged 25–50 were invited to join the study. Two hundred and twenty-four were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG = 134) or control group (CG = 90) according to their place of residence. Adherence among women in the IG increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention for eight of the 12 healthy behaviors and for the identification of six risk factors and six symptoms compared to women in the CG and, among whom adherence only increased for two behaviors, the identification of one risk factor and 0 symptoms. The intervention significantly improved the mean number of risk factors + 1.06 (p < 0.001) and symptoms + 1.18 (p < 0.001) identified by women in the IG. Conclusions The preliminary results of this study suggest that an educational intervention using a web-app and based on the Behaviour Change Wheel model could be useful to improve knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and symptoms and to improve adherence to a healthy diet and physical activity in women without a previous breast cancer diagnosis.

Digital solutions supporting the quality of life of European cancer patients and their caregivers: a systematic literature review

“…The comparison of face-to-face and online psychotherapy or support groups for cancer survivors showed no significant difference, thereby suggesting the potential of online interventions to overcome geographical barriers 30,31 . Martín-Payo et al 32 demonstrated how a web-app based on Behavior Change Wheel Model improved adherence to healthy behaviors, and significantly facilitated the identification of risk factors and symptoms in the intervention group of breast cancer patients.…”

“…Among the digital interventions included in this systematic review, the rate of effectiveness, intended as the capability of such solutions to reach the intended outcomes for which they have been proposed to, varies depending on the area the interventions focuses on: the digital interventions for improving psychophysical well-being proved to be the most effective, with 80% (12 out of 15) of the proposed solutions 19–22,24–26,28,29,32,33 having a positive impact on mental health; followed by remote monitoring interventions, with 73% (8 out of 11) of included studies 42,44,45,48–53 resulting useful for patients for real-time self-reporting symptoms and vitals and assessing their quality of life; also digital interventions for managing physical side-effects of cancer treatments are quite effective with 71% (5 out of 7) of the solutions 26,34,35,37,40 helping coping with physical distress; finally, only the 17% (2 out of 12) solutions 62,64 proved to enhance empowerment and self-efficacy of cancer patients. Moreover, for the first two categories, the adherence rate is quite high, ranging from 59% to 100%, suggesting a correlation between the effectiveness and the adherence rate of such interventions whose causality could be mutual.…”

The “Breast-4Y” web app for breast cancer prevention at young age: Development, evaluation, and validation

“…Yet, very limited digital health systems focus on primary prevention of breast cancer. Nonetheless, some effective interventions for young women without breast cancer diagnosis, delivered using a web-app, were found in the literature with the aim to improve the knowledge related with the tumor and to develop healthy behaviors ( Gajda et al, 2018 ; Martín-Payo et al, 2023 ).…”