Perspectives and Requirements of Patients with Prostate Cancer on Mobile Health Interventions During Androgen Deprivation Therapy: A Descriptive Qualitative Study.
Hongfan Yin, Chen Pan, Jia Gu and 1 others
PMID 40059384WHAT IT FOUND
Most prostate cancer patients on hormone therapy use smartphones daily, but only half want mHealth for their care.
They need simple, passive monitoring and trusted medical advice, while rejecting mindfulness and peer groups due to stigma and independence.
Key findings
01Only 52.9% of patients were willing to use mHealth for prostate cancer management, despite 88.2% being proficient with at least one smart application.
02Patients strongly preferred passive data collection via wearables and simple interfaces, while barriers included perceived lack of need, low self-efficacy in older adults, and previous negative experiences with inaccurate devices.
03Patients valued independence and stoicism, with 86.4% refusing help from friends and family, and showed little interest in mindfulness or relaxation therapies, viewing them as useless or deceptive.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study had a low participation rate (17 out of 148 invited), creating potential selection bias towards patients who were more digitally literate or healthier. Conducted in Shanghai, a developed urban area, so findings may not apply to rural patients with lower access to technology or different digital literacy levels. The cross-sectional nature means it cannot track how patient needs change over time during different stages of ADT. Participants were all male, limiting generalisability to female caregivers or other populations.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the General Project of National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that high smartphone usage equates to willingness to use health apps. More than half of these patients declined mHealth for disease management despite being proficient with devices, often because they felt they had adapted to their condition or found the apps unnecessary.