Perceptions of Adolescents With Cancer Related to a Pain Management App and Its Evaluation: Qualitative Study Nested Within a Multicenter Pilot Feasibility Study

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Abstract

Background

Pain in adolescents with cancer is common and negatively impacts health-related quality of life. The Pain Squad+ smartphone app, capable of providing adolescents with real-time pain management support, was developed to enhance pain management using a phased approach (ie, systematic review, consensus conference and vetting, iterative usability testing cycles). A 28-day Pain Squad+ pilot was conducted with 40 adolescents with cancer to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the app in a future clinical trial and to obtain estimates of treatment effect.

Objective

The objective of our nested qualitative study was to elucidate the perceptions of adolescents with cancer to determine the acceptability and perceived helpfulness of Pain Squad+, suggestions for app improvement, and satisfaction with the pilot study protocol.

Methods

Post pilot study participation, telephone-based, semistructured, and audio-recorded exit interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents with cancer (12-18 years). All interviews were transcribed and independently coded by 2 study team members. Content analysis was conducted to identify data categories and overarching themes.

Results

Five major themes comprising multiple categories and codes emerged. These themes focused on the acceptability of the intervention, acceptability of the study, the perceived active ingredients of the intervention, the suitability of the intervention to adolescents’ lives, and recommendations for intervention improvement.

Conclusions

Overall, Pain Squad+ and the pilot study protocol were acceptable to adolescents with cancer. Suggestions for intervention and study improvements will be incorporated into the design of a future randomized clinical trial (RCT) aimed at assessing the effectiveness of Pain Squad+ on adolescents with cancer health outcomes.

Related collections

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Author and article information

Contributors

Lindsay A Jibb:

School of NursingFaculty of Health SciencesUniversity of OttawaRoger Guindon Hall451 Smyth RdOttawa, ON, K1H8MCanada1 613 562 5800 ext 42531 613 562 5443ljibb@uottawa.ca

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6995-2825

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

Journal ID (publisher-id): JMU

Title: JMIR mHealth and uHealth

Publisher: JMIR Publications (Toronto, Canada )

ISSN (Electronic): 2291-5222

Publication date Collection: April 2018

Publication date (Electronic): 06 April 2018

Volume: 6

Issue: 4

Electronic Location Identifier: e80

Affiliations

[01] ¹ School of Nursing Faculty of Health Sciences University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON Canada

[02] ² Evidence-to-Practice Program Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute Ottawa, ON Canada

[03] ³ Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, ON Canada

[04] ⁴ Lawrence S Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing University of Toronto Toronto, ON Canada

[05] ⁵ Division of Hematology/Oncology Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, ON Canada

[06] ⁶ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation University of Toronto Toronto, ON Canada

[07] ⁷ eHealth Innovation University Health Network Toronto, ON Canada

[08] ⁸ Division of Hematology/Oncology Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Ottawa, ON Canada

[09] ⁹ Faculty of Medicine University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON Canada

[10] ¹⁰ Think Research Corporation Toronto, ON Canada

[11] ¹¹ Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, ON Canada

Author notes

Corresponding Author: Lindsay A Jibb ljibb@ 123456uottawa.ca

Author information

Lindsay A Jibb http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6995-2825

Bonnie J Stevens http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5387-2302

Paul C Nathan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0334-0871

Emily Seto http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8723-5915

Joseph A Cafazzo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3114-4440

Donna L Johnston http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6145-9809

Vanessa Hum http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3800-8556

Jennifer N Stinson http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9969-8052

Article

Publisher ID: v6i4e80

DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.9319

PMC ID: 5910537

PubMed ID: 29625951

SO-VID: ff01f89d-ba82-477a-9e07-86b846466c20

Copyright © ©Lindsay A Jibb, Bonnie J Stevens, Paul C Nathan, Emily Seto, Joseph A Cafazzo, Donna L Johnston, Vanessa Hum, Jennifer N Stinson. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 06.04.2018.

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR mhealth and uhealth, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://mhealth.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

History

Date received : 31 October 2017

Date revision requested : 30 November 2017

Date revision received : 8 January 2018

Date accepted : 26 January 2018

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