An innovative symptom monitoring tool for people with advanced lung cancer: A pilot demonstration

Kimberly Davis, Susan Yount, Katie Del Ciello, Margaret Whalen, Shaheen Khan, Mike Bass, Hongyan Du, David Eton, Gregory Masters, Thomas Hensing, David Cella

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

Treatment for advanced lung cancer is not curative; therefore, the primary goals of its care are to maximize symptom management and minimize treatment toxicity. Increasingly, patient-reported symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes have been accepted as important endpoints; several validated measures have gained wide acceptance in research, but their use in practice has been limited. Computer technology increasingly is used to reduce patient and administrative burden in conducting assessments to produce a real-time presentation of symptom and HRQL data. This paper describes a technology-based monitoring system developed for patients with advanced lung cancer who were starting chemotherapy. Among the 90 participants, compliance with the weekly symptom survey was 92%. Patient acceptability of the system was high, as evidenced by 30 patients who elected to complete an additional monitoring interval beyond the 12-week study period. Of patients who reported discussing their responses with a provider (95%), a majority (69%) stated that the questionnaire helped them to focus on issues to be discussed with their physicians. The system also was favorably reviewed by physicians, who indicated that the report helped them to compare patients' responses over time. Next steps will include a randomized trial to test the system's efficacy in improving symptom management.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)381-387
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Supportive Oncology
Volume5
Issue number8
StatePublished - Sep 2007

Funding

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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