Supporting Medical Staff from Psycho-Oncology with Smart Mobile Devices: Insights into the Development Process and First Results

Johannes Schobel, Madeleine Volz, Katharina Hörner, Peter Kuhn, Franz Jobst, Julian D. Schwab, Nensi Ikonomi, Silke D. Werle, Axel Fürstberger, Klaus Hoenig and Hans A. Kestler
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Johannes Schobel: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Madeleine Volz: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Katharina Hörner: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Peter Kuhn: Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Franz Jobst: Strategic IT, Ulm University Hospital, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Julian D. Schwab: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Nensi Ikonomi: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Silke D. Werle: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Axel Fürstberger: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Klaus Hoenig: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany
Hans A. Kestler: Institute of Medical Systems Biology, Ulm University, 89081 Ulm, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Cancer is a very distressing disease, not only for the patients themselves, but also for their family members and relatives. Therefore, patients are regularly monitored to decide whether psychological treatment is necessary and applicable. However, such monitoring processes are costly in terms of required staff and time. Mobile data collection is an emerging trend in various domains. The medical and psychological field benefits from such an approach, which enables experts to quickly collect a large amount of individual health data. Mobile data collection applications enable a more holistic view of patients and assist psychologists in taking proper actions. We developed a mobile application, FeelBack, which is designed to support data collection that is based on well-known and approved psychological instruments. A controlled pilot evaluation with 60 participants provides insights into the feasibility of the developed platform and it shows the initial results. 31 of these participants received paper-based questionnaire and 29 followed the digital approach. The results reveal an increase of the overall acceptance by 58.5% in the mean when using a digital screening as compared to the paper-based. We believe that such a platform may significantly improve cancer patients’ and relatives’ psychological treatment, as available data can be used to optimize treatment.

Keywords: data collection; smart mobile devices; development process; psycho-oncology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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