Group medical consultations (GMCs) and tablet-based online support group sessions in the follow-up of breast cancer: A multicenter randomized controlled trial.
Open accessAbstract
Objective Group medical consultations (GMCs) provide individual medical visits in the presence of ≤7 peer-patients. In the follow-up of breast cancer, we evaluated the efficacy of a new type of blended care My-GMC, a GMC combined with a tablet-based online app, consisting of three online support group sessions (SGS) and additional information.Methods This randomized controlled trial compared the effect of My-GMC (n = 59) with one individual medical visit (n = 50) (care as usual). Between-group differences on the outcomes distress and empowerment were analyzed 1 week, 3 and 6 months after the visit.Results No between-group differences were found for the primary outcomes distress and empowerment. More themes were discussed in GMCs compared to individual visits. Significantly more patients experienced peer-support in GMCs (78%) than via the online app (29%). Satisfaction with the online app was low.Conclusions My-GMC did not result in improvements in distress or empowerment, which might partly be explained by low baseline distress levels. This paper provides valuable information concerning factors on organizational level as well as individual level influencing the evaluation of a blended care intervention.Practice implications My-GMC provided an innovative alternative, combining professional and peer-support in face-to-face and online SGS, resulting in additional information provision and peer-support. Further improvement of the apps is needed to improve user satisfaction.Netherlands trial register NTR3771.
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Qualified therapists delivered the intervention in ten reviewed studies, most often alongside website self-guided materials.
“Qualified therapists delivered the intervention in ten reviewed studies, most often alongside the website self-guided materials [37, 43–45, 53, 56, 57, 59, 61].”
From Web-based interventions for fear of cancer recurrence: A scoping review with a focus on suggestions for the development and evaluation of future interventions (2024) · cites this paper as [44]
Section 2.2.2 describes one trial in which clinical nurse specialists attended online support sessions alongside tablet-based videos and written information. It does not identify the providers as qualified therapists or the materials as website-based, and it cannot substantiate the count of ten reviewed studies. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredNo convincing data are available on the benefit of mHealth for enduring adverse psychological sequel.
“However, no convincing data are available on the benefit of mHealth for enduring adverse psychological sequel [46,49].”
From Research-Tested Mobile Apps for Breast Cancer Care: Systematic Review (2019) · cites this paper as [49]
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- Authors
- Visser, A., Prins, J. B., Jansen, L., Radema, S. A., Schlooz, M. S., van Dalen, T., & van Laarhoven, H. W. M.
- Affiliations
- Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
- Diakonessenhuis hospital (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Visser, Annemiek
- Prins, Judith B.
- Jansen, Lisette
- Radema, Sandra A.
- Schlooz, Margrethe S.
- ORCID
- Prins, Judith B.
- Venue
- The Breast
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-08
- Volume
- 40
- Pages
- 181-188
- ISSN
- 0960-9776 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2808190235
- Cited by
- 41
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 0.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- The Breast (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Keywords
- breast cancer follow-up, online support groups, blended care, peer support, psychological distress, patient empowerment, patient satisfaction, survivorship care
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aftercare, Aged, Breast Neoplasms, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Netherlands, Peer Group, Psychotherapy, Group, Referral and Consultation, Self-Help Groups, Treatment Outcome, Patient Satisfaction, Telemedicine
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