The effect of a mobile application on treatment adherence and symptom management in patients using oral anticancer agents: A randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The use of mobile health technologies in the management of oral anticancer agents (OAA) can be beneficial in terms of treatment adherence and symptom management. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of a mobile application developed for patients using OAA on treatment adherence and symptom management. METHOD: The study was conducted using a randomized controlled trial design, and it was carried out on 77 patients. Data were collected from the Oral Chemotherapy Adherence Scale (OCAS), and the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS). Data were collected at the beginning of the research, and face-to-face interviews were conducted after one, three, and six months. Patients in the intervention group were followed up for six months using the mobile application. RESULTS: It was found that there was no difference between the intervention and control groups in the baseline OCAS mean scores (p > 0.05), and the mean score of the intervention group increased over the first, third- and sixth-month measurements (p < 0.05). It was found that there was no difference between the intervention and control groups in the MSAS mean scores (p > .05), and there was a decrease in the mean MSAS score of the intervention group between the third- and sixth-month follow-up (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The present study results showed that the mobile application is effective in managing symptoms and increasing treatment adherence. A well-designed mobile health application that increases treatment adherence, decreases symptom severity, and supports patients' self-management could be beneficial for patients using OAA. CLINICALTRIALS. GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT04626830.

Empowering caregivers in the radiotherapy process: the results of a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile-assisted empowerment program developed specifically for caregivers of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. METHODS: In this study, seventy-four individuals who gave care for cancer patients that received radiotherapy between September 2019 and May 2020 were randomized to receive a mobile-assisted empowerment program or standard care. The mobile-assisted empowerment program comprised of education and information related to the radiotherapy process, videos, activities, and question-and-answer modules to support caregivers during the radiotherapy process. Outcome measures were collected at baseline (day 1 of radiotherapy) and on day 21 and included caregiver demographics, distress, quality of life, and coping style using validated questionnaires. RESULTS: Compared with baseline, individuals' mean scores of distress were lower in the empowerment group than the control group (p < 0.001). General quality of life and sub-dimension mean scores were higher in the empowerment group than the control group (p ≤ 0.05). There was no difference in the coping style average scores (p ≥ 0.05) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the findings that a mobile-supported empowerment program reduced the level of caregiver distress and increased quality of life during their loved one's treatment with radiotherapy.