The Effect of an App-Based Multimodal Cancer Rehabilitation Programme on Sense of Coherence of Women With Gynaecological Cancer: Study Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial.
Ka Ming Chow, Carmen Wing Han Chan, Alexandra Leigh McCarthy and 4 others
PMID 40579827WHAT IT FOUND
A small pilot in women with gynaecological or breast cancer reported differences in ability to cope, cancer-related stress, and physical quality of life compared with controls after a 12-week nurse-led app programme.
The main gynaecological cancer trial has not reported results yet.
Key findings
01The planned trial's primary outcome is sense of coherence, the capacity to cope with life stressors, measured by a 13-item Chinese scale with total scores from 13 to 91, where higher scores indicate better coherence.
02The planned intervention combines a 12-week app with health modules, nurse counselling at weeks 1, 6 and 12, auto reminders, and nurse monitoring of inactive accounts.
03A pilot in 30 women with gynaecological or breast cancer reported effect sizes 0.76, 1.03 and 1.04 for sense of coherence, cancer-related stress and physical health quality of life compared with controls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a study protocol; the main randomised trial has not reported outcomes. The pilot was small (30 women, 15 intervention participants) and included women with gynaecological or breast cancer, so it cannot establish effectiveness. Participants and the research nurse cannot be blinded because they actively use or deliver the intervention. The intervention combines an app, nurse counselling, auto reminders, and nurse monitoring, so the pilot cannot separate the contribution of any single component. Long follow-up to 12 months poses attrition risk; the protocol allows for 20% attrition based on a pilot attrition rate of 22.9%.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study is funded by the Health and Medical Research Fund, the Health Bureau, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reported pilot differences as proof the programme works. The pilot had 30 women with gynaecological or breast cancer, only 15 received the intervention, and the main randomised trial has not reported results. The programme combines app modules, nurse counselling, reminders and monitoring, so the pilot cannot show which part produced the changes.