Development of a supportive care needs eHealth application for patients with cervical cancer undergoing surgery: a feasibility study

Purpose: To inform the development of an eHealth application for patients with cervical cancer for monitoring supportive care needs, perceived care supply and quality of life. Methods A mixed-method design was conducted. The 19-month process involved: (a) a literature review to screen the components of applications, (b) a cross-sectional needs assessment for patients with cervical cancer to define the needs and application program draft, (c) expert consultation to refine the draft, (d) software development, and (e) a pilot testing and users experience description. Patients in the intervention group received a 7-day application intervention combined with usual care. Supportive care needs, perceived care supply, quality of life and user experience were collected. Results Literature review results conducted the importance of fully preparation before application development, especially the supportive care needs assessment. Subsequent supportive care needs investigation revealed the most urgent needs were informational needs and privacy protection. 43 expert suggestions for application improvement were refined. The new application contained the patient and the healthcare professional portal. At day 7, the pretest/posttest changes significant between-group differences in increasing perceived care supply and quality of life, with the intervention group exhibiting larger tendency on needs and supply than the control. Users had positive experience with the application. Conclusions This study provides feasibility of the application targeting access to supportive care, which may be effective for relieving patients’ needs and improving perceived supply and quality of life.