BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy can cause symptoms that impair quality of life and functioning. Remote monitoring of daily symptoms and activity during outpatient treatment may enable earlier detection and management of emerging toxicities but requires patients, including older and acutely ill patients, to engage with technology to report symptoms through smartphones and to charge and wear mobile devices.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify factors associated with participant engagement with collecting 3 data streams (ie, daily patient-reported symptom surveys, passive smartphone sensing, and a wearable Fitbit device [Google]) during chemotherapy.
METHODS: We enrolled 162 patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy into a 90-day prospective study. Patients were asked to install apps on their smartphones to rate daily symptoms and to collect passive sensor data and to wear a Fitbit device for the duration of the study. Participants completed baseline demographic and quality of life questionnaires, and clinical information was extracted from the electronic medical record. We fit a series of logistic generalized estimating equations to evaluate the association between demographic and clinical factors and daily engagement with each data stream.
RESULTS: Participants completed daily surveys on 61% (SD 27%) of days and collected sufficient smartphone data and wearable sensor data on 73% (SD 35%) and 70% (SD 33%) of enrolled days, respectively, on average. Relative to White participants, non-White patients demonstrated lower odds of engagement with both symptom surveys (odds ratio [OR] 0.49, 95% CI 0.29-0.81; P=.006) and wearable data collection (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.17-0.73; P=.005). Patients with stage 4 cancer also exhibited lower odds of engagement with symptom reporting than those with earlier stage disease (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.48-1.00; P=.048), and patients were less likely to complete symptom ratings on the weekend (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.97; P=.008). Older patients (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.06; P=.01) and those who reported better cognitive functioning at study entry (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.03-1.34; P=.02) were more likely to engage with Fitbit data collection, and patients who reported higher levels of depressive symptoms were less likely to engage with smartphone data collection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.03-1.36; P=.02).
CONCLUSIONS: Remote patient monitoring during chemotherapy has the potential to improve clinical management, but only if patients engage with these systems. Our results suggest significant associations between demographic and clinical factors and long-term engagement with smartphone and wearable device assessments during chemotherapy. Non-White participants, those with metastatic cancer, or those with existing cognitive impairment may benefit from additional resources to optimize engagement. Contrary to hypotheses, older adults were more likely than younger adults to engage consistently with wearable device assessments.
