A study looking at online reporting of side effects at home after cancer treatment (ePRIME)

This study showed that women who were willing and able, accepted and were satisfied using the ePRIME system.  

Results
This feasibility study  took place in 2 hospitals. Of the 24 women who joined:

• 13 women remained well and in the study at 1 year
• 7 women were not able to continue because their cancer had come back
• 3 women chose not to continue
• 1 woman withdrew for another clinical reason on advice of her doctor 

The 13 women who stayed in the study completed the online forms reporting their symptoms at:

• 3 months
•  6 months
• 9 months
• 12 months

The team found that during the year the number of women who completed the online symptom reporting remained high. Most women reported finding the system easy to use.

Interviews
The team asked 16 of the 24 women and 4 clinical nurse specialists about their experience of using ePRIME. 

The team identified 4 themes around ePRIME and its use. These were the: 

• motivations to use ePRIME and the need for the women to feel ready to use it
• practicalities and management such as use and access to a computer and the confidence to report symptoms
• personal effect of using ePRIME such as feeling less anxious and more empowered
• future use of ePRIME including suggestions for improvement 

Most of the women and nurses were positive about using ePRIME and would be happy to continue using it.

Conclusion
The team concluded that those women who were willing and able to use the ePRIME system found it acceptable. The team concluded that further research with larger numbers of women should be done. And that this research should consider the:

• woman’s readiness to use a web based system for follow up 
• management of the system
• design of the system to make sure the women feel reassured and confident

The team are using the results to develop and improve the observation and follow up services for patients that includes digital monitoring.

More detailed information
There is more information about this research in the references below. 

Please note, the information we link to here is not in plain English. It has been written for healthcare professionals and researchers.

‘It made me feel part of the team, having my homework to do’ — women and specialist nurse experiences of remote follow‑up after ovarian cancer treatment: a qualitative interview study

F Kennedy, L Shearsmith and others

Supportive Care in Cancer, 2023. Volume 31, article 2.

Electronic patient-reported monitoring of symptoms during follow-up of ovarian cancer patients: a feasibility study

F Kennedy, L Shearsmith and others

BMC Cancer 2022. Volume 22, article 726.

Where this information comes from    
We have based this summary on the information in the articles above. These have been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed ) and published in medical journals. We have not analysed the data ourselves. As far as we are aware, the links we list above are active and the articles are free and available to view.