Exploring digital health system benefits for patients experiencing gastrointestinal cancer: Insights from patients, caregivers, and the health care professionals

Exploring digital health system benefits for patients experiencing gastrointestinal cancer: Insights from patients, caregivers, and the health care professionals

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer significantly impacts global health, representing a substantial portion of cancer cases and mortality. Effective symptom management is crucial for enhancing health related quality of life (HRQoL), necessitating optimal communication between patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs). Recognising challenges in GI cancer, higher symptom burden, poorer prognosis, the need for patient centered care including equity concerns, the researcher seeks to explore these issues further at Ipswich Hospital, West Moreton Hospital Health Service, Queensland (IH- WMHHS-QLD. Digital health systems (DHS) offer promising solutions, facilitating real-time symptom reporting enhancing communication, workforce efficiencies, symptom management, treatment adherence, overall survival, and patient experience. This thesis is wrapped around a work-based study to explore care delivery challenges at IH-WMHHS- QLD. It investigated the experiences and perceptions of three distinct groups involved in the care of GI cancer patients; the patients (n=10), with advanced pancreatic/bowel cancer, their caregivers (n=6), and the HCPs (n=10) who provide direct support and treatment. This study was done to understand patients’ health needs and the groups’ views on DHS, if the tool could improve communication, outcomes and care experiences in an outpatient setting. This qualitative study conducted in-person semi-structured interviews with the three identified cohorts. Drawing on thematic analysis, three themes were developed: 1) barriers for the three groups that impacted their knowledge and understanding which led to reduced HRQoL for the patient; 2) potential facilitators for DHS adoption and integration into cancer care; and 3) benefits of DHS for the 3 groups, including multiple sub-themes. Study findings suggest that the HRQoL of GI cancer patients can be impacted by; wellness, communication barriers, care delivery challenges, and identifying as a vulnerable subgroup population. The study concluded the need for improved communication, emphasising the positive potential of DHS to enhance care, participants reporting they believed the DHS was appropriate and suitable to adopt as an additional layer of enhanced care.