Developing an mHealth Application to Improve Cancer Chemotherapy Symptom Management

Physician Use of the Study Feedback Mechanism

The investigators will assess for how many of the enrolled patients the physicians use the feedback from the app to assist in clinical care of the patients. This includes following up about distressing symptoms and using information provided by the patient during regular clinical visits.

Time frame: 8 weeks post-enrollment

Increased Mastery of Cancer and Chemotherapy Symptoms

The investigators will use the Cancer Care Mastery Scale to assess patients' feelings of control over their cancer care. This scale is based on the Mastery Scale developed by Pearlin and Schooler, designed to capture the sense of control a patient feels over their cancer care. This is a 7-item scale where users are asked to respond to statements by choosing and answer from the following: Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neither agree or disagree, Agree, Strongly agree. Mastery scores were computed by taking the numeric mean of the items (1-5), with negatively worded items reversed. The number presented here is the number of patients whose mastery score improved between baseline and the end of the 8-week program. Because this is a small pilot study, we measure ANY improvement with no threshold specified.

Time frame: 8 weeks post enrollment

Symptom Burden Reduction

The investigators will use the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) to describe patient experiences in 8 core symptom areas (pain, fatigue, nausea, disturbed sleep, distress, lack of appetite, weakness, and diarrhea). For each area, patients are asked to rank their symptoms on a scale from 0 (Not present) to 10 (As bad as you can imagine). The overall score is the mean across all 8 items. The number reported here is the count of patients with a reduction in symptom burden between baseline and 8-week follow up. Because this is a small pilot study, we measure ANY reduction with no threshold specified.

Time frame: 8 weeks post enrollment

Improved Quality of Life

The investigators will use the FACT-G survey to assess four dimensions of patients health (physical, functional, social and emotional). For each of the dimensions, patients are given a series of statements about specific elements of well being and asked to rank them on the following scale: Not at all, a little bit, Somewhat, Quite a bit, or Very much. These items are given numeric values of 0-4, with negatively worded statements reverse coded. Within each of the four dimensions of health, average scores are calculated, and then an overall sum is derived. Total well-being ranges from 0 (Complete lack of well being) to 16 (Completely well). The number presented is the count of participants for whom the overall FACT-G score increased between baseline and 8-week followup. Because this is a small pilot study, we measure ANY increase with no threshold specified.

Time frame: Baseline and 8 weeks post enrollment