Designing Supportive e-Interventions for Partners of Men With Prostate Cancer Using Female Partners' Experiences: Qualitative Exploration Study
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Green, Anna
Jongebloed, Hannah
Ralph, Nicholas
Chambers, Suzanne
Livingston, Patricia
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Partners of men living with prostate cancer (PCa) can experience a variety of unmet needs that are largely unaddressed by health care professionals. There is limited evidence to suggest which approach may be most effective in supporting partners' unmet needs and further research is required to determine how to provide support to caregivers and how technology solutions can be designed. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the experience of partners of men living with PCa and their perceptions of the potential role of information technology in supporting their needs. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive methodology using focus groups and phone interviews was used. Purposive sampling was used to recruit people attending a national conference supported by a national PCa organization. Interview guides were adapted from an existing evidence-based smartphone app for caregivers of people with colorectal cancer. Sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. A coding framework was developed, and transcripts were coded line by line into the framework. Codes within the framework were grouped into descriptive categories that were then developed into analytical themes. RESULTS: A total of 17 female partners participated in the study, with an average age of 64 (SD 8.5) years. The following two main themes emerged: In the first theme, that is, How technology can be shaped to support female partners of prostate cancer survivors, the content and design of the smartphone app was discussed in addressing female partners' needs. The following four subthemes were developed: getting support from social networks and resources, the lack of relevant information, demystifying future care expectations during and following a PCa diagnosis, and delivering the smartphone app-to whom and from whom. In the second theme, that is, The benefits and barriers of technology, the suitability of smartphone apps as a supportive modality for female partners was described. This included three subthemes: the smartphone app as an appropriate modality for supporting female partners, the future anticipated benefits of using the smartphone app, and concerns for storing and accessing information on the internet. CONCLUSIONS: A smartphone app may be a suitable modality for providing information and peer support to female partners of men living with PCa. There is a need to provide peer support for female partners in future interventions to ensure that female partners' intimacy and daily practical needs are met.
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JMIR Cancer
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8
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1
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© Natalie Winter, Anna Green, Hannah Jongebloed, Nicholas Ralph, Suzanne Chambers, Patricia Livingston. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (https://cancer.jmir.org), 15.02.2022. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Cancer, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://cancer.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
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Oncology and carcinogenesis
Nursing
Health services and systems
Public health
caregivers
e-intervention
mHealth
mobile phone
prostate cancer
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Winter, N; Green, A; Jongebloed, H; Ralph, N; Chambers, S; Livingston, P, Designing Supportive e-Interventions for Partners of Men With Prostate Cancer Using Female Partners' Experiences: Qualitative Exploration Study., JMIR Cancer, 2022, 8 (1), pp. e31218