Longitudinal evaluation of Supportive care Prioritization, Assessment and Recommendations for Kids (SPARK), a symptom screening and management application

BMC Cancer

Dilip Soman¹  L. Lee Dupuis²  Brenda Spiegler³  Tal Schechter⁴  Lillian Sung⁴  Susan Kuczynski⁵  Sadie Cook⁶  Hailey Davis⁶  Nathan Duong⁶  Emily Vettese⁶ 

[1] 0000 0001 2157 2938, grid.17063.33, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 105 St. George Street, M5S 3E6, Toronto, ON, Canada;0000 0004 0473 9646, grid.42327.30, Department of Pharmacy, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, M5G 1X8, Toronto, ON, Canada;0000 0004 0473 9646, grid.42327.30, Department of Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, M5G 1X8, Toronto, ON, Canada;0000 0004 0473 9646, grid.42327.30, Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, M5G 1X8, Toronto, ON, Canada;Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC), 99 Citation Drive, M2K 1S9, Toronto, ON, Canada;Program in Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, 686 Bay Street, M5G 0A4, Toronto, ON, Canada;

关键词: Pediatric cancer;    Symptom screening;    Supportive care;    Self-report;    Oncology;    Patient reported outcomes;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-019-5662-9

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSupportive care Prioritization, Assessment and Recommendations for Kids (SPARK) is a web application focused on improving symptom control. It enables pediatric cancer and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients to self-report and track symptoms, and allows healthcare professionals to access guidelines for symptom management. Objective was to determine the feasibility of longitudinal collection of symptom data.MethodsIn this longitudinal, single-armed feasibility study, respondents were children 8–18 years of age with cancer or pediatric HSCT recipients. Participants completed symptom reporting daily for 5 days. Cognitive interviews were conducted on day 5. Quantitative evaluation included SPARK ease of use and understandability of SPARK reports. Qualitative feedback on facilitators and barriers to daily symptom screening was solicited. Feasibility was defined as ≥75% of participants completing symptom screening on at least 60% of on-study days during the five-day study.ResultsAmong the 30 children enrolled, the median number of days SSPedi was completed at least once was 5 (range 3 to 5). Overall, 28/29 (96.6%) thought completing symptom screening using SPARK was easy or very easy. All participants understood SPARK symptom reports. Severe symptoms was the most common barrier to daily reporting while an alarm reminder system was the most commonly identified facilitator.ConclusionsDaily completion of symptom screening using SPARK over 5 days was feasible in children aged 8 to 18 years with cancer and pediatric HSCT recipients. SPARK is now appropriate for use in randomized trials to evaluate the effect of symptom screening and symptom feedback.

【 授权许可】

CC BY