Ecological Momentary Assessment in Palliative Care: A Qualitative Study of Patient and Clinician Perspectives.
Daniel Shalev, Emily Bivona-Maldonado, Maureen Ekwebelem and 8 others
PMID 41099314WHAT IT FOUND
Patients and palliative care clinicians described frequent symptom reporting as potentially helping track changes, surface mood and anxiety, and guide conversations, but warned that complexity, poor access, and workflow strain could block use.
Key findings
01Ten patients and nine palliative care clinicians described perceived potential and practical concerns about ecological momentary assessment tools.
02Participants saw frequent symptom reporting as potentially helping track symptom changes and surface underreported mood and anxiety.
03Participants said uptake depended on equitable access and integration with existing clinical workflows.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Conducted at a single urban academic ambulatory palliative care clinic. The sample was English-speaking and able to participate in interviews, so it may under-represent limited English proficiency, low digital literacy, unreliable device or internet access, and highest symptom burden. Caregivers were not included, although they may be important for proxy reporting. No transcript-return member checking was done. The study was designed to inform local co-design, so transferability rather than generalizability was the lens. It reports perspectives on possible tools, not tested effects on symptoms, communication, workload, or equity.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that an ecological momentary assessment app improves symptom control, communication, workload, or equity. It reports patient and clinician perspectives about possible tools, not a tested intervention.