Back to Search
Start Over
A survey of cancer care institutions in Nepal to inform design of a pain management mobile application.
- Source :
- BMC Palliative Care; 11/5/2021, Vol. 20 Issue 1, p1-21, 21p
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Background: One way to improve the delivery of oncology palliative care in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is to leverage mobile technology to support healthcare providers in implementing pain management guidelines (PMG). However, PMG are often developed in higher-resourced settings and may not be appropriate for the resource and cultural context of LMICs. Objectives: This research represents a collaboration between the University of Virginia and the Nepalese Association of Palliative Care (NAPCare) to design a mobile health application ('app') to scale-up implementation of existing locally developed PMG. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of clinicians within Nepal to inform design of the app. Questions focused on knowledge, beliefs, and confidence in managing cancer pain; barriers to cancer pain management; awareness and use of the NAPCare PMG; barriers to smart phone use and desired features of a mobile app. Findings: Surveys were completed by 97 palliative care and/or oncology healthcare providers from four diverse cancer care institutions in Nepal. 49.5% (n = 48) had training in palliative care/cancer pain management and the majority (63.9%, n = 62) reported high confidence levels (scores of 8 or higher/10) in managing cancer pain. Highest ranked barriers to cancer pain management included those at the country/cultural level, such as nursing and medical school curricula lacking adequate content about palliative care and pain management, and patients who live in rural areas experiencing difficulty accessing healthcare services (overall mean = 6.36/10). Most nurses and physicians use an Android Smart Phone (82%, n = 74), had heard of the NAPCare PMG (96%, n = 88), and reported frequent use of apps to provide clinical care (mean = 6.38/10, n = 92). Key barriers to smart phone use differed by discipline, with nurses reporting greater concerns related to cost of data access (70%, n = 45) and being prohibited from using a mobile phone at work (61%; n = 39). Conclusions: Smart phone apps can help implement PMG and support healthcare providers in managing cancer pain in Nepal and similar settings. However, such tools must be designed to be culturally and contextually congruent and address perceived barriers to pain management and app use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- CANCER pain
SPECIALTY hospitals
CONFIDENCE
HEALTH services accessibility
MOBILE apps
CROSS-sectional method
RURAL conditions
ATTITUDE (Psychology)
CURRICULUM
SMARTPHONES
MEDICAL personnel
CANCER treatment
SOFTWARE architecture
SURVEYS
MEDICAL protocols
HEALTH literacy
HEALTH attitudes
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
DATA analysis software
PAIN management
PALLIATIVE treatment
HEALTH promotion
CANCER patient medical care
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1472684X
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- BMC Palliative Care
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 153435641
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-021-00824-0