Supporting Pain Self-Management in Patients With Cancer: App Development Based on a Theoretical and Evidence-Driven...

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions
• Behavioral science
• Oncology patient support

Background:

• Complex interventions require theoretical foundations for effective development, as per UK Medical Research Council guidelines.
• Mobile health (mHealth) app development for cancer pain self-management often lacks theoretical underpinnings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically design a theory- and evidence-driven mobile application for cancer pain self-management.
• To identify and specify the active features of the pain self-management app.

Main Methods:

• The Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework was employed for a structured, step-by-step intervention development process.
• Behavioral sources (capability, opportunity, motivation) for pain self-management were identified.
• The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy (v1) was used to define the app's active contents.

Main Results:

• Theoretical analysis indicated that deficits in capability, opportunity, and motivation hinder cancer pain self-management.
• Education, persuasion, training, and enablement were identified as key intervention functions.
• Eighteen specific behavior change techniques were selected to operationalize these functions within the app.

Conclusions:

• A theory- and evidence-based design for a cancer pain self-management app has been developed and is reported.
• This study offers a model application of the BCW framework for health app development.
• The systematic approach enhances clarity for evaluating intervention mechanisms and facilitates future replication.