Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
06:40
The Dyspepsia Educational Tool As a Novel Aid in Dyspepsia Management
Published on: June 29, 2019
Planning and Developing a Symptom Diary Intervention for Breast Cancer Survivors With Concerns About Medication
Yolanda Eraso1, Duncan Stewart1, Ruth Edwards2
1School of Social Sciences and Professions, London Metropolitan University, London, England, United Kingdom.
JMIR Cancer
|May 26, 2026
Summary
A new symptom diary intervention was developed to help breast cancer patients manage side effects from hormone therapy (HT) drugs and concerns about medication brand switching. This tool aims to improve patient self-efficacy and facilitate pharmacist consultations.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacy Practice
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer treatment often involves 5-10 years of hormone therapy (HT).
- HT drugs like tamoxifen can cause side effects, and brand switching may negatively impact patient adherence and attitudes.
- No effective interventions currently exist to address patient concerns regarding generic medication switching.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the acceptability of a symptom diary for patients and pharmacists managing HT medication concerns.
- To report on the planning and development stages of a coproduced diary intervention.
Main Methods:
- Employed a person-based approach combining theory, evidence, and person-based strategies.
- Included analysis of an online patient forum (n=277), patient (n=9) and pharmacist (n=7) interviews during planning.
- Involved a rapid scoping review, coproduction workshops (n=17), pharmacist interviews (n=11), and patient advisory group consultations (n=5) during development.
Main Results:
- Patients and pharmacists identified community pharmacies as ideal settings for HT consultations, suggesting a patient diary.
- Patients reported decreased confidence with brand switching, while pharmacists found managing brand requests challenging.
- The developed symptom diary is a self-monitoring tool to enhance self-efficacy, recording symptoms, influencing factors, and facilitating pharmacist feedback.
Conclusions:
- A preliminary symptom diary intervention was developed, appearing acceptable and relevant for patient self-monitoring.
- Further revisions based on user feedback will be incorporated after testing the ENABLE intervention in community pharmacies.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Dosage Regimens: Designs and Approaches
Designing a dosage regimen, which refers to the manner of drug administration, is a complex process involving the selection of drug dose, route, and frequency. This process is underpinned by pharmacokinetic parameters derived from tests and population averages. These parameters are then tailored to patient-specific variables such as diagnosis, demographics, and allergy status. Once therapy commences, therapeutic response monitoring is critical and achieved through clinical and physical...
01:25Formulating and Validating Nursing Diagnosis II
Nursing diagnoses represent a problem validated by major defining characteristics. There are four categories of nursing diagnoses: problem-focused, risk, health promotion or wellness, and syndrome. The anatomy of a nursing diagnosis includes three components: problem statement or diagnostic label, defining characteristics, and related factors.
Risk nursing diagnoses represent clinical judgments of an individual, family, or community more vulnerable to developing the health problem than others...
Risk nursing diagnoses represent clinical judgments of an individual, family, or community more vulnerable to developing the health problem than others...
01:26Formulating and Validating Nursing Diagnosis I
A nursing diagnosis is written when the nurse recognizes a cluster of essential patient data indicating health problems treated with independent nursing interventions. The standardized terminologies of a nursing diagnosis help nurses identify and treat patients' problems. Every electronic health record that uses nursing diagnosis must employ standard diagnostic terminology. Developing an efficient, individualized care plan begins with accurate nursing diagnoses.
There are thirteen domains for...
There are thirteen domains for...
01:15Bioavailability Study Design: Healthy Subjects Versus Patients
Bioavailability studies are essential for evaluating a drug's therapeutic efficacy and understanding its absorption patterns under various physiological conditions. Conducting such studies on target patient populations provides more relevant data by simulating real-world disease states. However, practical challenges often necessitate the use of young, healthy adult volunteers as study subjects.Patients may exhibit altered drug absorption patterns due to the effects of the disease itself,...
02:07Blind Procedures
Ideally, the people who observe and record the children’s behavior are unaware of who was assigned to the experimental or control group, in order to control for experimenter bias. Experimenter bias refers to the possibility that a researcher’s expectations might skew the results of the study. Remember, conducting an experiment requires a lot of planning, and the people involved in the research project have a vested interest in supporting their hypotheses. If the observers knew which child was...