Nurses’ Experiences Using an Interactive System to Assess and Manage Treatment-Related Symptoms of Patients With Pancreatic Cancer: Interview Study

Abstract

Background Treatment for pancreatic cancer entails symptom distress and a high burden of self-care. Patient-reported outcomes, collected with the support of mobile health (mHealth), have shown positive effects on symptom management, patient satisfaction, and quality of life for patients with cancer. For mHealth tools to become an integral part of clinical routine, experiences from health care professionals are needed. Objective The aim of this paper is to describe nurses’ experiences of integrating an interactive system (Interaktor) for symptom assessment and management into daily practice, when caring for patients following pancreaticoduodenectomy and during chemotherapy treatment due to pancreatic cancer. Methods Patients reported symptoms via the Interaktor app daily for 6 months. In the event of alarming symptoms, an alert was triggered to the patient’s nurse who then called the patient to offer advice and support. All nurses (n=8) who assessed patients were interviewed either individually or in a group. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Results mHealth can facilitate person-centered care by offering nurses a way to gain knowledge about patients and to build relationships. Further, obstacles to implementation could be seen due to a lack of structural prerequisites and uncertainty about multiple ways to interact with patients. Conclusions The Interaktor system can provide person-centered care. However, to implement mHealth tools as a clinical routine, focus needs to be placed on creating the necessary organizational conditions.