TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating the effects of a mobile health app on reducing patient care needs and improving quality of life after oral cancer surgery
T2 - Quasiexperimental study
AU - Wang, Tze Fang
AU - Huang, Rou Chen
AU - Yang, Su Chen
AU - Chou, Chyuan
AU - Chen, Lee Chen
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Tze-Fang Wang, Rou-Chen Huang, Su-Chen Yang, Chyuan Chou, Lee-Chen Chen. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 27.07.2020. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Background: Intervention with a mobile Health (mHealth) app can improve the efficacy of early detection of oral cancer and the outcomes for patients taking oral anticancer medications. The quality of life of oral cancer patients is significantly reduced within three months after surgery; also, their needs for nursing care and health information increase, mainly due to side effects and associated psychological problems. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate changes in the care needs and quality of life of patients with oral cancer after receiving the intervention of a newly developed mHealth app. Methods: After surgery, oral cancer patients were divided into an experimental group (n=50) who received the mHealth app intervention and a control group (n=50) who received routine health care and instruction. After 3 months of intervention, survey questionnaires were used to assess the patients’ quality of life, nursing care needs, and acceptance of the mHealth app. Results: The physiological care needs were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group (P<.05). Although the differences were not statistically significant, the psychological needs, communication needs, and care support needs all improved after the mHealth app intervention. The overall improvement in quality of life was higher in the experimental group than in the control group (–7.24 vs –4.36). In terms of intention to use, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use, the acceptability scores of the mHealth app were significantly increased after 3 months of intervention (P<.05). Conclusions: Compared with routine health care and instruction, for patients after surgery, the education/information intervention using the mHealth app significantly reduced their nursing care needs, improved their quality of life, and increased their acceptance of using an mHealth app on a mobile device. These findings can provide a theoretical basis for future health care app design and improvement. This study suggests that an mHealth app should be incorporated into the routine care of oral cancer patients to provide medical information quickly and improve their self-management abilities, thereby reducing the patients’ need for physiological care and improving their quality of life.
AB - Background: Intervention with a mobile Health (mHealth) app can improve the efficacy of early detection of oral cancer and the outcomes for patients taking oral anticancer medications. The quality of life of oral cancer patients is significantly reduced within three months after surgery; also, their needs for nursing care and health information increase, mainly due to side effects and associated psychological problems. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate changes in the care needs and quality of life of patients with oral cancer after receiving the intervention of a newly developed mHealth app. Methods: After surgery, oral cancer patients were divided into an experimental group (n=50) who received the mHealth app intervention and a control group (n=50) who received routine health care and instruction. After 3 months of intervention, survey questionnaires were used to assess the patients’ quality of life, nursing care needs, and acceptance of the mHealth app. Results: The physiological care needs were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group (P<.05). Although the differences were not statistically significant, the psychological needs, communication needs, and care support needs all improved after the mHealth app intervention. The overall improvement in quality of life was higher in the experimental group than in the control group (–7.24 vs –4.36). In terms of intention to use, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use, the acceptability scores of the mHealth app were significantly increased after 3 months of intervention (P<.05). Conclusions: Compared with routine health care and instruction, for patients after surgery, the education/information intervention using the mHealth app significantly reduced their nursing care needs, improved their quality of life, and increased their acceptance of using an mHealth app on a mobile device. These findings can provide a theoretical basis for future health care app design and improvement. This study suggests that an mHealth app should be incorporated into the routine care of oral cancer patients to provide medical information quickly and improve their self-management abilities, thereby reducing the patients’ need for physiological care and improving their quality of life.
KW - Care needs
KW - Health information
KW - Mobile health app
KW - Oral cancer
KW - Quality of life
KW - Technology acceptance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088847282&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/18132
DO - 10.2196/18132
M3 - Article
C2 - 32716303
AN - SCOPUS:85088847282
SN - 2291-5222
VL - 8
JO - JMIR mHealth and uHealth
JF - JMIR mHealth and uHealth
IS - 7
M1 - e18132
ER -
