Patient-Caregiver Portal System in Palliative Oncology : Assessment of Usability and Perceived Benefit

©Margaret L Longacre, Marcin Chwistek, Cynthia Keleher, Mark Siemon, Brian L Egleston, Molly Collins, Carolyn Y Fang. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (https://humanfactors.jmir.org), 02.11.2023..

BACKGROUND: The engagement of family caregivers in oncology is not universal or systematic.

OBJECTIVE: We implemented a process intervention (ie, patient-caregiver portal system) with an existing patient portal system to (1) allow a patient to specify their caregiver and communication preferences with that caregiver, (2) connect the caregiver to a unique caregiver-specific portal page to indicate their needs, and (3) provide an electronic notification of the dyad's responses to the care team to inform clinicians and connect the caregiver to resources as needed.

METHODS: We assessed usability and satisfaction with this patient-caregiver portal system among patients with cancer receiving palliative care, their caregivers, and clinicians.

RESULTS: Of 31 consented patient-caregiver dyads, 20 patients and 19 caregivers logged in. Further, 60% (n=12) of patients indicated a preference to communicate equally or together with their caregiver. Caregivers reported high emotional (n=9, 47.3%), financial (n=6, 31.6%), and physical (n=6, 31.6%) caregiving-related strain. The care team received all patient-caregiver responses electronically. Most patients (86.6%, 13/15 who completed the user experience interview) and caregivers (94%, 16/17 who completed the user experience interview) were satisfied with the system, while, of the 6 participating clinicians, 66.7% agreed "quite a bit" (n=1, 16.7%) or "very much" (n=3, 50%) that the system allowed them to provide better care.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate system usability, including a systematic way to identify caregiver needs and share with the care team in a way that is acceptable to patients and caregivers and perceived by clinicians to benefit clinical care. Integration of a patient-caregiver portal system may be an effective approach for systematically engaging caregivers. These findings highlight the need for additional research among caregivers of patients with less advanced cancer or with different illnesses.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:10

Enthalten in:

JMIR human factors - 10(2023) vom: 02. Nov., Seite e47624

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Longacre, Margaret L [VerfasserIn]
Chwistek, Marcin [VerfasserIn]
Keleher, Cynthia [VerfasserIn]
Siemon, Mark [VerfasserIn]
Egleston, Brian L [VerfasserIn]
Collins, Molly [VerfasserIn]
Fang, Carolyn Y [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Cancer
Caregiver
Caregiving
Clinical care
Communication
Engagement
Family caregiver
Journal Article
Oncology
Palliative oncology
Patient portal, health policy
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Usability
Usage

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 03.11.2023

Date Revised 22.03.2024

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.2196/47624

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM364090103