Abstract
Abstract Introduction Consumer wearables such as smart watches and rings have the potential to provide continuous monitoring of patients receiving cancer treatment in their prehabilitation and rehabilitation phases of care. Enhanced Monitoring for Better Recovery and Cancer Experience in Greater Manchester (EMBRaCE-GM) is a multi-centre prospective trial evaluating feasibility and acceptability of wearable technologies for patients undergoing treatment for colorectal cancer, lung cancer or lymphoma within Greater Manchester (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05099237). We report the initial findings of the clinician’s perspective on deploying and supporting the use of wearable devices. Methods A qualitative study was conducted to ascertain the experiences of researchers who recruited participants to EMBRaCE-GM. Three interviewers conducted structured interviews and a thematic analysis was performed. Results Thirteen researchers were interviewed, and 3 major themes identified. The first identifies the importance of the device set-up phase, such as integration into the patient’s existing technological ecosystem, and the training provided to clinical teams. The second theme was patient engagement with the technology, such as the burden of interacting with the device (‘digital load’), and comfort and aesthetics. The final theme involved the support infrastructure for technical issues and device maintenance as well as safe protocols and governance for responding to device alerts, particularly if patients were unwell. Discussion Wearable technologies have the potential to provide ongoing benefit through continuous monitoring outside the hospital setting for patients receiving cancer treatment. This study, as part of the EMBRaCE-GM project, identifies important themes critical for future patient and clinician adoption of wearable devices.
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