A Mobile Patient-Facing App for Tracking Patient-Reported Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: Single-Arm Feasibility Study

Sewit Teckie; Jeffrey Solomon; Karthik Kadapa; Keisy Sanchez; David Orner; Dennis Kraus; Dev P Kamdar; Lucio Pereira; Douglas Frank; Michael Diefenbach

doi:10.2196/24667

A Mobile Patient-Facing App for Tracking Patient-Reported Outcomes in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors: Single-Arm Feasibility Study

JMIR Form Res. 2021 Mar 19;5(3):e24667. doi: 10.2196/24667.

Authors

Sewit Teckie^{1

2}, Jeffrey Solomon³, Karthik Kadapa⁴, Keisy Sanchez³, David Orner^{1

2}, Dennis Kraus^{5

6}, Dev P Kamdar^{5

6}, Lucio Pereira^{5

6}, Douglas Frank^{5

6}, Michael Diefenbach³

Affiliations

¹ Academic Department of Radiation Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New York, NY, United States.
² Department of Radiation Medicine, Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Lake Success, NY, United States.
³ Center for Health Innovations and Outcomes Research, Department of Medicine, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY, United States.
⁴ Center for Research Informatics & Innovation, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY, United States.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, United States.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology, Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Lake Success, NY, United States.

PMID: 33739291
PMCID: PMC8075070
DOI: 10.2196/24667

Abstract

Background: Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) frequently experience disease-related symptoms and treatment adverse effects that impact their overall quality of life. Cancer-specific mobile health apps for patient-related outcomes allow patients to communicate with their clinicians and proactively track their symptoms, which have been shown to improve clinical management and disease outcomes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of LogPAL, a novel iPhone-based mobile health app designed to help HNC survivors track and manage their posttreatment symptoms.

Methods: Patients who completed curative treatment for HNC in the preceding 24 months were recruited from 2 clinical sites within a single institution. Upon enrollment, participants completed a brief sociodemographic survey, downloaded the app onto their iPhone devices, and were asked to complete a series of biweekly questionnaires (based on the Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) via the app for an 8-week study period. The primary feasibility endpoints included retention (retaining >80% of the enrolled participants for the duration of the study period), adherence (>50% of the participants completing 100% of the questionnaires over the study period), and usability (a mean system usability scale [SUS] score >68). Additional postintervention questions were collected to assess perceived usefulness, acceptance, and overall satisfaction.

Results: Between January and October 2019, 38 participants were enrolled in the study. Three participants dropped out, and 3 were classified as nonusers. The remaining 32 (87%) were eligible for analysis. Their mean age was 57.8 (SD 12.3) years (range 24-77 years, 81% [26/32] male). Overall, 375 of 512 (73.2%) questionnaires were completed, with 17 (53%) of the 32 participants adherent. Participant-reported usability was acceptable; the mean SUS score was 71.9 (95% CI 64.3-79.5) with high satisfaction of LogPAL usefulness and likelihood to recommend to other cancer survivors.

Conclusions: This single-arm prospective pilot study showed that LogPAL is a feasible, regularly used, accepted app for HNC survivors, justifying a full-scale pilot. Based on the findings from this study, future iterations will aim to improve usability and test intervention efficacy.

Keywords: ePROs; head and neck cancer; mHealth; mobile phone.

©Sewit Teckie, Jeffrey Solomon, Karthik Kadapa, Keisy Sanchez, David Orner, Dennis Kraus, Dev P Kamdar, Lucio Pereira, Douglas Frank, Michael Diefenbach. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (http://formative.jmir.org), 19.03.2021.