Pain Management Smartphone Application for Patients With Stage III-IV Head and Neck Cancer Undergoing Radiation Therapy

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Obtain consumer input to determine the optimal way to address and monitor the patient's symptoms.

II. Train patients to use the pain management smartphone application (PMSA) and determine the compliance characteristics and the number of additional on-treatment visits (OTVs) prompted by usage of the application.

OUTLINE:

Selected patients are interviewed for input that will help guide the wording of questions of the PMSA. All patients/caregivers are then instructed to download the PMSA and are demonstrated how to properly use the application. Beginning on the first day of radiation therapy (day 1), patients are instructed to use the PMSA for the duration of their radiation therapy (up to day 50), although the timing may change based on the availability of the app.

Inclusion criteria

• Radiation oncology patients undergoing 5-7 weeks of definitive radiation therapy for head and neck, esophageal or lung cancer.
• Ability to understand and the willingness to use the PMSA on the patient's personal smartphone
• Displays ability to use and understand the PMSA as evidenced by successful response to alarm and successful entries while monitored by the principal investigator (PI)
• Willing and able to provide informed consent and fill out demographic, disease, and pain assessment questionnaires
• English speaking

Exclusion criteria

• Radiation oncology patients undergoing palliative courses of radiation
• Patients who do not own smartphones
• Patients who are unable to successfully respond to the PMSA alarm and properly enter their data
• Patients who are unable to eat and drink normally
• Patients who are unable to validate their understanding of the pain scale