A recent study led by Assistant Professor Lindsay Jibb from the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) has revealed that parents of young children with cancer, as well as paediatric cancer clinicians, are in favour of an app-based solution that Jibb and her team are developing to assist parents in managing their child’s cancer pain at home.
The study, published in PLOS Digital Health, showed that parents and clinicians not only found the pain management app to be helpful and safe but also empowering.
“Caring for children with cancer and managing their pain often falls on parents when they’re at home, and children can experience frequent and sometimes severe cancer pain,” says Jibb, who holds the Signy Hildur Eaton Chair in Paediatric Nursing Research.
“Our mobile app aims to ease this burden and provide both parents and children with better quality pain management.” Lindsay Jibb
As part of the qualitative study, participants were also asked to provide suggestions for improving the digital app.
Many of these suggestions focused on accessibility and ease of use, as well as the importance of making the app available in multiple languages and incorporating gamification to engage children in their care where appropriate.
Currently in the pilot stage, the app includes a library of pharmacological advice as well as guidance for psychological and physical symptoms that children may experience.
The app provides algorithm-based instructions tailored to the child’s age and stage of development, advising parents on how to help their child respond to different types of pain, such as through belly breathing, stretching, or mindfulness sessions.
Additionally, a chat feature is being integrated into the app to provide real-time support for parents, something that groups like the Ontario Parents Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC) Advisory Group have identified as crucial.
The chat option will connect parents with hospital-based nurses, allowing them to ask questions and seek nurse-led clinical pain support for their child when needed.
“Digital and mobile apps are used for various purposes, and it’s surprising that they’re not more commonly used in healthcare. As technology advances, particularly with artificial intelligence, the ability to connect people outside the hospital with real-time care and support will hopefully continue to grow,” says Jibb.
Participants highlighted some challenges the digital app could pose, such as accurately measuring pain thresholds and determining when medical intervention is necessary.
“Pain is highly subjective, especially for children. As a result, some of the feedback we received in this study emphasises the importance of ensuring that multidimensional pain assessments, multi-modal pain management support, and pain tracking over time are key features of the app,” says Jibb.
This, Jibb says, will address the need for a biopsychosocial approach to cancer pain management and ensure that pain thresholds are personalised to each patient and their family.
Jibb has received funding from the University of Toronto’s Connaught New Researcher Award to support the pilot rollout of this digital cancer pain management app to parents of children with cancer in early 2024.
Paper: PLOS Digital Health
