Key facts
- The SUPPORT+ app can help advanced cancer patients spend half as long in hospital and avoid over a third of unplanned admissions.
- The app provides symptom-management information and a direct line of communication with healthcare staff.
- Quality of life was maintained or increased for app users over 18 weeks, while a control group saw a decline.
- Hospitalizations and hospital stay durations were significantly reduced for app users.
- The app was developed by the University of Hong Kong's clinical oncology department.
A mobile application designed to help advanced cancer patients manage their symptoms has shown promise in reducing hospitalizations and maintaining quality of life, according to research from the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
The SUPPORT+ app, developed by HKU’s clinical oncology department, provides patients with symptom-management information and a direct communication channel to healthcare staff. The app was tested over 18 weeks in a study involving more than 1,200 patients from six palliative care clinics in Hong Kong who were not receiving active cancer treatment.
Patient-recorded outcome data indicated that quality of life was maintained or even increased among SUPPORT+ users. Specifically, the EQ 5D 5L utility index saw a nominal increase from a baseline of 0.49 to 0.52 for users, while non-users experienced a decline from 0.50 to 0.38. Similarly, the EQ 5D Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores rose from 63.2 to 65.7 for app users, contrasting with a drop from 63.9 to 59.7 in the control group.
While emergency department visits were comparable between groups, the study revealed significant reductions in overall hospitalizations and the duration of hospital stays for those using the SUPPORT+ app. Researchers noted that current care for advanced cancer patients is often reactive, relying on patients or caregivers to seek help when symptoms worsen.
Future plans for the SUPPORT+ app include integrating AI-supported tools to offer more immediate, around-the-clock guidance and analyzing the potential impact on healthcare costs. A palliative care specialist commented that while the approach requires patient tech-savviness, it adds to the evidence that proactive symptom reporting and intervention can improve patient outcomes and quality of life.