Determining the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile health application to remotely monitor the symptoms of people with mesothelioma at home

Maguire, R., Arber, A., Klepacz, Naomi, Connaghan, J., Mcphelim, J., Blythe, K, Murray, P., Rupani, H., Mcnaughton, L., Moylan, A. and Clark, P. (2019) Determining the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile health application to remotely monitor the symptoms of people with mesothelioma at home. Lung Cancer, 127, S87-S88. (doi:10.1016/S0169-5002(19)30254-5).

Abstract

Introduction: people with MPM have a high symptom burden, often experiencing several concurrent symptoms, including breathlessness, anxiety, fatigue, weakness, pain, anorexia, sweating, weight loss and depression. Transitions in services from in-patient to local settings compounds this situation, as people with MPM have to manage their symptoms at home, often in the absence of clinicians. Advances in technologies such as mobile phones provide a means to remotely monitor the symptoms of people with MPM at home, support self-management and alert clinicians where appropriate. Studies of remote symptom monitoring in cancer have reported significant improvements in symptom management, quality of life and survival. To date, no studies have explored the use of remote symptom monitoring in people with MPM.

Methods: this study tested a novel, remote symptom monitoring system for people with MPM and explored its feasibility and acceptability. A total of 17 patients were recruited from 4 UK sites. Patients used the system for 2–3 months. Each day they completed a symptom questionnaire on the mobile phone and sent this information to the study server where an algorithm assessed reports and where appropriate triggered alerts to clinicians. Patients also received self-care advice relating to their symptoms. On receipt of an alert, clinicians logged on to a secure web page, viewed the reports and contacted the patient. Alert response data and patient reported outcome measures were analysed. Interviews were conducted with people with MPM, carers and clinicians to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the system in practice.Results: demonstrate that people with MPM, carers and clinicians perceived the remote monitoring of symptoms to be feasible and acceptable. Suggestions were made to enhance future functionality of the system.

Conclusion: findings support conduct of further studies evaluating the effectiveness of remote symptom monitoring in people with MPM and its impact on outcomes including survival.

Disclosure: all authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

This record has no associated files available for download.

Contributors

Author: Naomi Klepacz

Download statistics