Development of a personal digital assistant (PDA) system to collect symptom information from home hospice patients.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have found that inappropriate assessment of cancer pain can lead to inadequate pain management. To improve assessment, it may be helpful to collect real-time data in a natural environment using computerized ecological momentary assessment (cEMA). Therefore, the aim of the study was to develop a personal digital assistant (PDA) system to collect information on symptoms such as pain and mood states in patients with cancer using cEMA.


METHODS
Following a pilot study in inpatients with cancer, the second phase of the study involved patients with terminal cancer receiving home hospice care. These patients were asked to record their symptoms in a PDA (a palm-sized portable device) several times per day for a week when they took rescue medications and when an alarm sounded. At the end of the week, an interview on the usability of the device was conducted and overall response rates were calculated.


RESULTS
Fifteen patients completed the second phase of the study. Their median age was 64 years and the median survival time after the study period was 22 days. The overall response rates were 90.3% to the sound of the alarm and 80.2% after taking rescue medications. The user-friendliness of the device was rated as 8.8 on a scale of 0 (worst) to 10 (best).


CONCLUSIONS
The cEMA technique using a PDA might be applicable to patients with cancer in palliative care to evaluate symptoms in a natural setting. This system may also be useful for managing symptoms such as pain and mood states in patients with cancer.
Department of Stress Sciences and Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Maki
M
Hachizuka
Kazuhiro
K
Yoshiuchi
Yoshiharu
Y
Yamamoto
Satoru
S
Iwase
Keiichi
K
Nakagawa
Koh
K
Kawagoe
Akira
A
Akabayashi
D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D017051:Hospice Care; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain; D014041:Tokyo