Patient and clinician nudges to improve symptom management in advanced cancer using patient-generated health data: study protocol for the PROStep randomised controlled trial

Ravi B Parikh, William Ferrell, Jonathan Wakim, Joelle Williamson, Neda Khan, Michael Kopinsky, Mohan Balachandran, Peter E Gabriel, Yichen Zhang, Lynn M Schuchter, Lawrence N Shulman, Jinbo Chen, Mitesh S Patel, Christopher R Manz, Ravi B Parikh, William Ferrell, Jonathan Wakim, Joelle Williamson, Neda Khan, Michael Kopinsky, Mohan Balachandran, Peter E Gabriel, Yichen Zhang, Lynn M Schuchter, Lawrence N Shulman, Jinbo Chen, Mitesh S Patel, Christopher R Manz

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with advanced cancers often face significant symptoms from their cancer and adverse effects from cancer-associated therapy. Patient-generated health data (PGHD) are routinely collected information about symptoms and activity levels that patients either directly report or passively record using devices such as wearable accelerometers. The objective of this study was to test the impact of an intervention integrating remote collection of PGHD with clinician and patient nudges to inform communication between patients with advanced cancer and their oncology team regarding symptom burden and functional status.

Methods and analysis: This single-centre prospective randomised controlled trial randomises patients with metastatic gastrointestinal or lung cancers into one of three arms: (A) usual care, (B) an intervention that integrates PGHD (including weekly text-based symptom surveys and passively recorded step counts) into a dashboard delivered to oncology clinicians at each visit and (C) the same intervention as arm B but with an additional text-based active choice intervention to patients to encourage discussing their symptoms with their oncology team. The study will enrol approximately 125 participants. The coprimary outcomes are patient perceptions of their oncology team's understanding of their symptoms and their functional status. Secondary outcomes are intervention utility and adherence.

Ethics and dissemination: This study has been approved by the institutional review board at the University of Pennsylvania. Study results will be disseminated using methods that describe the results in ways that key stakeholders can best understand and implement.

Trial registration numbers: NCT04616768 and 843 616.

Keywords: HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT; ONCOLOGY; Protocols & guidelines.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Trial schema. W2H, Way to Health. CRC, Clinical Research Coordinator
Figure 2
Figure 2
PROStep dashboard. ED, emergency department. OEC, Oncology Evaluation Center. ECOG, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status
Figure 3
Figure 3
Intervention by patient arm. PRO, patient-reported outcome; W2H, Way to Health.

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