RF Safe

The mobile phone as a tool in improving cancer care in Nigeria.

Psycho-oncology · 2012 · Benefit · Low evidence

← Research stream
BenefitLow evidencePaper 3221

At 24 months, 97.6% (1132) of patients sustained follow-up appointments, compared with 19.2% (42) who did not receive the phone intervention. Most calls (72.8%; 14,102 calls) were to discuss illness/treatment, 14% were rated as emergencies by the oncologist, …

Study snapshot

PublicationPsycho-oncology · 2012
Study typeother
Reported directionBenefit
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The use of mobile phone as a tool for improving cancer care in a low resource setting. METHODS: A total of 1176 oncology patients participated in the study. Majority had breast cancer. 58.4% of the patients had no formal education; 10.7 and 9.5% of patients had college or graduate education respectively. Two out of every three patients lived greater than 200 km from hospital or clinic. One half of patients rented a phone to call. RESULTS: At 24 months, 97.6% (1132 patients) had sustained their follow-up appointments as against 19.2% (42 patients) who did not receive the phone intervention. 72.8% (14 102 calls) were to discuss illness/treatment. 14% of the calls were rated as emergency by the oncologist. 86.2% of patients found the use of mobile phone convenient/excellent/cheap. 97.6% found the use of the phone worthwhile and preferred the phone to traveling long distance to hospital/clinic. Also the patients felt that they had not been forgotten by their doctors and were been taken care of outside the hospital/clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Low resource countries faced with the burden of cancer care, poor patient follow-up and poor psychosocial support can cash in on this to overcome the persistent problem of poor communication in their healthcare delivery. The potential is enormous to enhance the use of mobile phones in novel ways: developing helpline numbers that can be called for cancer information from prevention to treatment to palliative care. The ability to reach out by mobile phone to a reliable source for medical information about cancer is something that the international community, having experience with helplines, should undertake with colleagues in Africa, who are experimenting with the mobile phone potential.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother
Effect directionbenefit
PopulationOncology patients in Nigeria (majority breast cancer)
Sample size1176
Exposure24 months
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 66% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

At 24 months, 97.6% (1132) of patients sustained follow-up appointments, compared with 19.2% (42) who did not receive the phone intervention. Most calls (72.8%; 14,102 calls) were to discuss illness/treatment, 14% were rated as emergencies by the oncologist, and most patients rated phone use as convenient/excellent/cheap (86.2%) and worthwhile (97.6%).

Outcomes measured

  • Follow-up appointment adherence
  • Call reasons (illness/treatment discussion)
  • Emergency-rated calls
  • Patient satisfaction/convenience and preference for phone vs travel
  • Perceived psychosocial support (feeling remembered/cared for)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "24 months"
  },
  "population": "Oncology patients in Nigeria (majority breast cancer)",
  "sample_size": 1176,
  "outcomes": [
    "Follow-up appointment adherence",
    "Call reasons (illness/treatment discussion)",
    "Emergency-rated calls",
    "Patient satisfaction/convenience and preference for phone vs travel",
    "Perceived psychosocial support (feeling remembered/cared for)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "At 24 months, 97.6% (1132) of patients sustained follow-up appointments, compared with 19.2% (42) who did not receive the phone intervention. Most calls (72.8%; 14,102 calls) were to discuss illness/treatment, 14% were rated as emergencies by the oncologist, and most patients rated phone use as convenient/excellent/cheap (86.2%) and worthwhile (97.6%).",
  "effect_direction": "benefit",
  "limitations": [],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.66,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "mobile phone",
    "cancer care",
    "Nigeria",
    "follow-up",
    "telehealth",
    "patient communication",
    "psychosocial support"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}
AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1002/pon.1894
PubMed: 22383275

Read the original paper →

Related papers

← Back to the Research Library