Digital solutions, real-world challenges: lessons from mHealth trials in oncology

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Digital Health
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) technologies, including wearables and apps, are increasingly used in oncology to enhance patient quality of life, treatment adherence, and survival.
• Despite their potential, mHealth research in oncology faces significant challenges in study design and implementation.
• This article draws on experiences from three oncology mHealth studies (eBladder, CHOPIN, LAPSTAR) to identify these obstacles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and categorize key challenges encountered in designing and implementing mHealth studies in oncology.
• To provide practical recommendations for researchers to overcome these obstacles in future mHealth oncology research.
• To inform the development of more robust and effective mHealth interventions for cancer patients.

Main Methods:

• The study identifies obstacles by analyzing preliminary experiences from three ongoing mHealth oncology studies: eBladder, CHOPIN, and LAPSTAR.
• Obstacles are categorized into four main areas: planning and design, technology set-up and study execution, adherence, and data reliability.
• The article synthesizes these experiences to offer practical recommendations for future research.

Main Results:

• Key challenges include determining appropriate follow-up durations, defining digital support as an endpoint, managing treatment heterogeneity, ensuring device accuracy, and addressing privacy concerns.
• Adherence issues are linked to platform integration, balancing active and passive measurements, and considering patient mHealth literacy.
• Data reliability is impacted by real-time adverse event capture and device accuracy.

Conclusions:

• mHealth research in oncology is promising but requires careful consideration of design, technology, adherence, and data reliability challenges.
• Addressing these identified obstacles through practical recommendations can facilitate the successful implementation of future mHealth studies.
• Effective mHealth integration in oncology necessitates a strategic approach to overcome current research limitations and maximize patient benefits.