Evaluating a Wearable-Based Pain Monitoring System in Palliative Cancer Care: Usability and Feasibility Study

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Palliative Care Technology
• Wearable Sensors

Background:

• Pain management in cancer palliative care is difficult in low-resource settings.
• Wearable technology can improve pain monitoring by adding physiological data.
• Usability of such technology in low-income palliative care is not well-studied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the usability and feasibility of the NEST system, a smartwatch-based pain monitoring tool.
• To assess the NEST system's suitability for palliative cancer care in Ecuador.
• To identify factors influencing the adoption and sustainability of the technology.

Main Methods:

• An observational study with 7 cancer patients undergoing palliative care.
• Combined hospital and home-based monitoring phases.
• Qualitative and quantitative data collection using the NASSS framework.

Main Results:

• Patients preferred smartwatches for reporting outcomes (83%) with 36-92% wear-time adherence.
• Usability was good, with perceived clinical value, but technical/organizational challenges were noted.
• Feasibility is promising, though patient condition complexity and workflow integration pose challenges.

Conclusions:

• Usability challenges for smartwatch health solutions are surmountable with stakeholder communication.
• Key feasibility threats include the complex palliative care environment, regulatory ambiguity, and healthcare staff workload.
• The NEST system shows potential for augmenting palliative cancer care in resource-limited settings.