Abstract
BackgroundAs the incidence of cancer is on the rise, there is a need to develop modern communication tools between patients and the medical personnel. Electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) measures increase the safety of cancer treatments and may have an impact on treatment outcome as well. ePRO may also provide a cost-efficient way to organize follow-up for patients with cancer. Noona is an internet-based system for patients to self-report symptoms and adverse events of cancer treatments from home via a computer or a smart device (eg, smartphone, tablet).ObjectiveIn this pilot study, we assessed the suitability of a novel ePRO application (Noona) for patients with cancer, nurses, and doctors at the Helsinki University Hospital, Finland.MethodsThe study included 44 patients with cancer (different solid tumor types) and 17 health care professionals (nurses or medical doctors). Patients were either operated or received systemic treatment or radiotherapy. Patients reported their symptoms to the medical staff via Noona. In addition, patients and clinicians answered a questionnaire, based on which Noona’s suitability for clinical use was evaluated in terms of usability (ease of use, operability, and learnability), reliability (subjective opinion of the participant), and incidence of harmful events reported by the participants.ResultsA total of 41/44 (93%) patients and 15/17 (88%) professionals reported that the program was easy or quite easy to use; 38/44 (86%) patients and 11/17 (65%) professionals found Noona reliable, and 38/44 (86%) patients and 10/17 (59%) professionals would recommend Noona to other patients or their colleagues. No harmful incidences caused by the use of Noona were reported by the patients; however, 1 harmful incidence was reported by one of the professionals.ConclusionsThe majority of the participants felt that Noona appeared reliable and it was easy to use. Noona seems to be a useful tool for monitoring patient’s symptoms during cancer therapy. Future studies will determine the impact of this ePRO platform in routine clinical practice.
Highlights
MethodsAccording to the Finnish Cancer Registry, approximately 30,000 people receive cancer diagnoses in Finland every year, and the number of patients with cancer continues to rise.Cancer treatments cause adverse events and long-term consequences
No harmful incidences caused by the use of Noona were reported by the patients
Recommendations included adding an alarm function when a new message has arrived, adding capability for users to send pictures through the program, possibility for logging in automatically with a saved password, and having more options for the questions. This pilot study suggests that an Electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) application called Noona is feasible and acceptable in clinical practice
Summary
MethodsAccording to the Finnish Cancer Registry, approximately 30,000 people receive cancer diagnoses in Finland every year, and the number of patients with cancer continues to rise.Cancer treatments cause adverse events and long-term consequences. During chemotherapy patients commonly experience side effects such as nausea, fatigue, neutropenic infections, mucositis, peripheral neuropathy, and pain These side effects impair patients’ quality of life and may require emergency room visits, hospital stays, reductions in the following chemotherapy doses, or lead to treatment interruption [2]. Noona is an internet-based system for patients to self-report symptoms and adverse events of cancer treatments from home via a computer or a smart device (eg, smartphone, tablet). Patients were either operated or received systemic treatment or radiotherapy Patients reported their symptoms to the medical staff via Noona. Patients and clinicians answered a questionnaire, based on which Noona’s suitability for clinical use was evaluated in terms of usability (ease of use, operability, and learnability), reliability (subjective opinion of the participant), and incidence of harmful events reported by the participants. Future studies will determine the impact of this ePRO platform in routine clinical practice
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