Claira Warner
Research Mentor(s): Yun Jiang
Mentor Department:
Authors: Claira Warner, Yun Jiang
Session: Session 3 (11:00am – 11:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 72
Abstract
Frequent transitions of care (TOC) for patients with a cancer diagnosis can increase the risk of adverse health events and lead to gaps in their care and communication with providers. This ongoing study aims to promote patient safety during these care transitions through the development of a digital user-centered patient safety event reporting platform. This platform allows patients to self-track their symptom- and medication-related concerns, view their tracking patterns over time, and share their records with their healthcare teams, promoting patient engagement in self-management during their TOCs. Following user-centered design (UCD) principles, a prototype of the electronic reporting system was developed. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather initial patient feedback. After the design had incorporated feedback, system usability tests were conducted with four additional patients. Inclusion criteria for this study were 1) a diagnosis of colorectal, lung, breast, or prostate cancer, 2) 18 years of age or above, and 3) having undergone a TOC within the past year. The prototype demos showed patients favored integrated, simple, and easy-to-read features, interactive components, such as updating medication lists, and visual displays of their tracking records like bar graphs. Participants of the usability tests emphasized the necessity of guidance on how to operate the system during initial use, but all stated the system was generally easy to use. They also shared their concerns about the interface such as the small font of system displays, particularly on mobile devices. The future of this project will measure patient outcomes and engagement with the platform over six months. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, one, three, and six months via qualitative interviews, questionnaires, and medical chart reviews. Overall, this platform is applied to improve patient safety and care outcomes for patients with cancer undergoing frequent care transitions. The iterative design process has integrated direct patient feedback on the development of digital healthcare technologies, potentially contributing to patient engagement in using the technology for health self-management.
