MyPal ADULT study protocol: a randomised clinical trial of the MyPal ePRO-based early palliative care system in adult patients with haematological malignancies

Lydia Scarfò, Christina Karamanidou, Michael Doubek, Tina Garani-Papadatos, Jana Didi, Charalampos Pontikoglou, Julie Ling, Cathy Payne, Helen Α Papadaki, Richard Rosenquist, Niki Stavroyianni, Sheila Payne, Paolo Ghia, Pantelis Natsiavas, Christos Maramis, Kostas Stamatopoulos, Lydia Scarfò, Christina Karamanidou, Michael Doubek, Tina Garani-Papadatos, Jana Didi, Charalampos Pontikoglou, Julie Ling, Cathy Payne, Helen Α Papadaki, Richard Rosenquist, Niki Stavroyianni, Sheila Payne, Paolo Ghia, Pantelis Natsiavas, Christos Maramis, Kostas Stamatopoulos

Abstract

Introduction: The systematic collection of electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) in the routine care of patients with chronic haematological malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and myelodysplasia syndromes (MDS) can constitute a very ambitious but worthwhile challenge. MyPal is a Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation Action aiming to meet this challenge and foster palliative care for patients with CLL or MDS by leveraging ePRO systems to adapt to the personal needs of patients and caregiver(s).

Methods and analysis: In this interventional randomised trial, 300 patients with CLL or MDS will be recruited across Europe. Patients will be randomly allocated to early palliative care using the MyPal system (n=150) versus standard care including general palliative care if needed (n=150). Patients in the experimental arm will be given access to the MyPal digital health platform which consists of purposely designed software available on smartphones and/or tablets. The platform entails different functionalities including physical and psychoemotional symptom reporting via regular questionnaire completion, spontaneous self-reporting, motivational messages, medication management and a personalised search engine for health information. Data on patients' activity (daily steps and sleep quality) will be automatically collected via wearable devices.

Ethics and dissemination: The integration of ePROs via mobile applications has raised ethical concerns regarding inclusion criteria, information provided to participants, free and voluntary consent, and respect for their autonomy. These have been carefully addressed by a multidisciplinary team. Data processing, dissemination and exploitation of the study findings will take place in full compliance with European Union data protection law. A participatory design was adopted in the development of the digital platform involving focus groups and discussions with patients to identify needs and preferences. The protocol was approved by the ethics committees of San Raffaele (8/2020), Thessaloniki 'George Papanikolaou' Hospital (849), Karolinska Institutet (20.10.2020), University General Hospital of Heraklion (07/15.4.2020) and University of Brno (01-120220/EK).

Trial registration number: NCT04370457.

Keywords: adult palliative care; health informatics; leukaemia.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the study design. ePROs, electronic patient-reported outcomes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Software and hardware modules of the MyPal digital health platform.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sample graphical user interfaces of the MyPal eHealth system: (A) screen of the MyPal smartphone app; (B) page of the MyPal web app.

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