Palliative Care Online: A Pilot Study on a Pancreatic Cancer Website (722)

Abstract

1.Discuss how the Internet is being used increasingly for health information and support.2.Discuss the methodology and findings from a pilot study of having a palliative care nurse practitioner available to answer questions on a leading pancreatic cancer website.3.Discuss the opportunity for further study on providing aspects of palliative care online. Background. Patients with pancreatic cancer and their families could benefit from palliative care services but may not have access to them. An emerging option is the Internet, which is becoming an important source of health information and a link between patients, families, and healthcare providers. Research objectives. (1) Determine if patients and their families would use a webpage where they could access a palliative care nurse practitioner (PCNP). (2) Identify the palliative care needs of patients and families who accessed that Webpage. (3) Determine the helpfulness of the webpage/PCNP. Methods. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative Results. The PCNP webpage was visited 650 times by 395 unique individuals over an 8-week study period. Forty-eight participants posted a total of 55 questions or sent e-mails to the PCNP. The majority of questions (66%) fell into one of the eight domains of palliative care. Of these, most of the questions, 42%, asked about physical aspects of pancreatic cancer with the next largest domain, 11%, being psychological concerns about the illness. The other third of questions had to do with non-palliative aspects of pancreatic cancer or its treatment. Twenty participants (5% of total visitors) completed an online survey. Although statistical significance was not achieved, most survey respondents found the PCNP website helpful. It was considered easy to use and participants found information and support there and recommended that the PCNP page be an on-going resource. Conclusion. The Internet can be used to offer aspects of palliative care such as information, support and advice to patients and families dealing with a life-threatening illness. Implications for research, policy, or practice. Further research is needed in this evolving area.