Report from Health Professionals and Cancer Patients: Experiences and Wishes from Clinical Practice About the Integration of Quality of Life with a Health App.

ABSTRACT

Advanced cancer treatments increase survival rates and with that the importance of Quality of Life (QoL). QoL is well studied in trials, but the transition to standard care is little. For this reason, we identified the challenges for a regular integration to conceptualize an applicable solution together with patients and health professionals (HP). We conducted two meetings based on the design thinking method. Two Physicians, one employee of cancer counseling centers, one psycho-oncologists, and five patients were included. Based on the discussions a system was conceptualized to solve current thresholds. All participants had experience with the documentation of QoL, but none had shared it digitally from home. Therefore, the main threshold was the lack of system for data transition between agents, followed by lack of time for HP and acceptance of QoL for patients. HP were mainly interested in data on the trend of QoL whereas patients preferred information on their activity, energy level and social contacts. The conceptualized solution is based on a health app on the patients' side with a browser-based implementation for HP. Within the system, automatized data interpretation, alarm systems, support information, standardized input fields as an orientation for documentation with expandable options for specific restrictions as well as interinstitutional networking for HP to better refer patients to others was wished for. This article describes the concept of such a system developed with HP and patients. Implementation and transfer to clinical care has yet to be done.