JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The CAPABLE (Cancer Patients Better Life Experience) project developed an application for remote monitoring and management of treatment-related symptoms, as well as for delivering a set of supplementary nonpharmacological interventions, with the aim of improving patients’ quality of life. Clinical studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of CAPABLE, yielding encouraging results. However, these studies did not explore individual patients’ perspectives.

Objective:

Following the evaluation of the CAPABLE intervention’s efficacy, this study aims at exploring end users’ overall experience with the telemonitoring system, identifying strengths and weaknesses in relation to users’ needs and expectations, in order to inform future developments.

Methods:

Toward the end of the clinical study, a focus group was conducted with a subset of enrolled patients. The discussion was led by a psycho-oncologist using a predefined framework of topic-related questions, which served as prompts to encourage open discussion. Patients freely shared their experiences, and a thematic analysis was performed on the collected statements.

Results:

The findings showed that the tool primarily served a dual function of support and reassurance. Patients reported psychological relief and a sense of security, driven by the perception of being closely monitored and supported by a multidisciplinary hospital team. CAPABLE was perceived as easy to use, effective, and useful. Nevertheless, several weaknesses also emerged. Suggestions for improvement focused on a closer alignment between CAPABLE functionalities and patients’ individual treatments and preferences, as well as concerns regarding application maintenance after the end of the project.

Conclusions:

The focus group provided valuable insights to inform the future development of telemonitoring applications for cancer patients.