[Evaluation of a prostate cancer aftercare app from the patient perspective: A qualitative study]

The project "Digital unterstützte Prostatakrebsnachsorge in Schleswig-Holstein" (Digitally supported prostate cancer aftercare in Schleswig-Holstein) funded by the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein aims to test the app "Nachsorge-Pass" (Patient Aftercare Book) in the care of prostate cancer patients after seed brachytherapy. In order to evaluate the app from the patient perspective a qualitative study was conducted which examined usability, usefulness and potential for improvement.

All patients using the app at the start of the study were invited to participate in semi-structured telephone interviews; 12 of 20 users (60%) followed the invitation. In addition, the questionnaire "System Usability Scale" (SUS) was applied. Qualitative content analysis was used to interpret the interviews.

The evaluation revealed that, overall, the app was regarded as very user-friendly, though some users encountered difficulties during the installation of the app and technical problems afterwards. Some patients experienced a feeling of security resulting from the symptom monitoring. Other participants did not see a personal benefit, but made suggestions for improvement in order to make the app more useful.

Symptom monitoring through the app "Nachsorge-Pass" has shown to be feasible. Potential for improvement includes the representation of the symptom course for patients, a stronger focus on psychosocial aspects, and a better integration of the app into the ongoing aftercare process. As soon as the number of users is high enough, a randomised controlled trial should be conducted in order to collect reliable evidence on the effectiveness of the app.

The present study provides first clues about a patient-oriented design of an app for prostate cancer aftercare, which has shown a high level of user-friendliness in the first test with patients. Further development should take place in iterative cycles involving both users and health care professionals.