Feasibility study of Symptoms Management Application for Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy
Keywords:
Application, Symptom management in gastrointestinal symptoms, Colorectal cancer, ChemotherapyAbstract
This feasibility study aimed to develop a mobile application to support colorectal cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy and to study the feasibility of using symptoms management application. The symptom management model by Dodd was used as a conceptual framework to develop the application’s content for the feasibility test. Ten colorectal cancer patients admitted at Chulabhorn Hospital were recruited using the purposive sampling technique. The research instruments comprised a smartphone application to manage gastrointestinal symptoms in colorectal cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy and a questionnaire regarding application feasibility. The sample used the developed application for six weeks and completed the questionnaires to assess the feasibility of using the application. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.
The application was developed and tested in a sample group. The results revealed that the most common symptoms were anorexia, oral mucositis, constipation, nausea, and vomiting. Most of the severity of symptoms were at first degree. After utilizing the symptom management methods learned by the application, the patients’ symptoms were relieved. The mean score of the feasibility of using the application was 17.5 (SD = 0.85). These findings suggest that nurses and other health care providers should apply symptom management apps to colorectal cancer patients to reduce the severity of their symptoms.
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