Mobile Health Technology for Palliative Care Patients

To test the potential and acceptance of wireless activity tracking in palliative care patients leaving hospital care. Explorative study, collaboration project of the Clinic of Radiation-Oncology, University Hospital Zurich and the Wearable Computing Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institut of Technology. Patients receive a tracking bracelet and a smart phone in order to gather objective physical activity parameters as step count, sleep duration, heart rate, social activity patterns (e.g. making calls) as well as subjective ratings of pain and distress. Quality of life (QoL) will be captured by paper questionnaire. Correlations between patients' physical activity patterns and the pain and distress level assessed from electronic scales as well as QoL-questionnaire will be performed. Acceptance will be evaluated by quantitative questionnaires and interviews. The proposed study is meant to be preparatory work for an intervention study to test the effect of wireless monitoring of palliative care patients on fostering early interventions for symptom relief and support of QoL.