Rapid Electronic Capturing of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Older Adults With End-Stage Renal Disease: A Feasibility Study.
Jennifer Gabbard, Christopher J McLouth, Gretchen Brenes and 7 others
PMID 32935548WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults on hemodialysis easily used an iPad app to report symptoms during treatment.
The app flagged suicidal ideation to nurses immediately and sent scores to doctors. It is a feasible way to monitor pain, depression, and anxiety in this population.
Key findings
01The app was usable for older adults, with a mean usability score of 77.6 and 88.9% of participants rating it as easy to use.
02The system successfully integrated clinical safety by displaying a stop sign to the patient and alerting the nurse if a positive screen for suicidal ideation occurred.
03Symptom burden increased over time, with the Dialysis Symptom Index showing significantly higher scores at 6 months compared to baseline.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a small pilot with only 22 participants, which limits the generalizability of the findings. There was no control group using paper questionnaires, so the study cannot determine if the electronic method is superior to traditional methods. The population was drawn from a single outpatient clinic in North Carolina and was predominantly African American, which may not represent all dialysis populations. Some participants reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of questionnaires, suggesting that spacing out assessments might be necessary for better compliance.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the increase in symptom burden scores as a failure of the app or a worsening of the patient's clinical status caused by the intervention; this reflects the natural progression of end-stage renal disease and the sensitivity of the tool to detect changes over time.