TaBel: Tablet-based assessment of functional impairments and quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer – a prospective controlled care study

Functional impairments in head and neck cancer are currently assessed in an inadequately standardized manner in routine clinical practice and are considered in the context of general symptom burden, survival, treatment, and quality of life, or used for direct care. The identification of risk factors during the course of the disease, particularly during follow-up care, is insufficiently clarified, depending on tumor stage and treatment.

Patients with head and neck cancer are often unable to communicate adequately and in a timely manner for a variety of reasons, thus failing to communicate relevant information. During regular follow-up consultations, which usually take place quarterly, physicians must assess their general condition within a few minutes and initiate therapeutic measures if necessary.

In recent years, patient-reported outcomes have emerged as a potentially suitable means of improving this situation. These can support patient-physician communication and thus the diagnosis of individual problems and subsequent decision-making, and can contribute to a higher probability of survival for patients.

The technical and design possibilities of mobile, tablet-based data collection could enable immediate multimedia processing and use of existing information for efficient decision support during routine care, but have not yet been established due to insufficient usability.

This study will iteratively design and implement a system based on the principles of contextual design. In a participatory development process of a usable system, patients, clinical staff, and IT specialists will interact in the clinical care context to achieve the smoothest possible integration into existing processes and workflows in patient care.

This prospective, controlled health care study will use tablet-based, standardized data collection with standardized instruments (ICF Core Set) that will be completed on tablet PCs by patients in the waiting room and by physicians during treatment. The study examines differences 15 months after completion of radiotherapy between patients with and without multimedia prioritized overviews during patient-doctor consultations.

The standardized documentation also enables easier analysis of individual and collective treatment pathways. Furthermore, questions regarding the development and implementation of usable interactive systems for patient-doctor communication are analyzed.