Feasibility of Wave Health to monitor electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) in prostate cancer patients

Abstract

Background

Benefits of electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) are well established, but concerns exist around their applicability in certain cancer patient populations. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and compliance of a novel platform, Wave Health, to automate the collection of ePROs among patients undergoing systemic treatment for prostate cancer.

Patients and methods

The study was conducted across eight Spanish hospitals where prostate cancer patients able to use smartphones were asked to download the Wave Health app and fill out different ePRO questionnaires weekly for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was compliance with questionnaire completion.

Results

Eighty-seven patients were enrolled (48% aged >70 years; 48% >high school educated). The compliance rate using the app was 93.3% to complete 19 scheduled ePRO questionnaires during their participation, and the acceptance rate was 94.3%. Most patients described the app as intuitive and completed most ePROs (>80%) ‘without help’, even though 28.7% reported a lack of technology confidence. The mean Cancer Health Literacy Test-30-Spanish (CHLT-30-DKspa) score increased from 22.3 at baseline to 23.2 at week 12. Fatigue, weakness, and poor sleep were the most common symptoms reported by patients. Most health care providers (97.6%) rated the platform as ‘very useful,’ ‘useful,’ or ‘somewhat useful.’

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that ePRO collection via the Wave Health platform is feasible, with high rates of compliance, acceptance, and satisfaction among prostate cancer patients under systemic treatment regardless of age, education, or level of tech confidence, and that the app is perceived as useful among health care providers.