Fatigue and sleep disturbances, common, distressing, and debilitating symptoms of cancer and its treatment, negatively impact physical, emotional, and social health of millions of cancer patients. Most of the 1.7 million Americans diagnosed with cancer in 2020 will suffer cancer and treatment-related symptoms; up to 90% receiving treatment experience fatigue; 30% may experience long-lasting fatigue. Sleep disturbances (affecting up to 75% of patients) contribute to poor health and may exacerbate fatigue. Mounting evidence indicates that acupressure, which is unfamiliar and infrequently used by cancer survivors, can reduce fatigue and improve sleep. 5 Point App, Inc. is developing its first mobile health (mHealth) software, EnergyPoints, a patient activation and educational app that offers an opportunity to mainstream acupressureĀa beneficial strategy to help cancer patients self-manage their symptoms. The EnergyPoints App will motivate and guide cancer patients to implement daily acupressure protocols to self-manage fatigue and sleep disturbances. The app will connect individual sleep and activity data synced from an Apple Watch/Fitbit with self-reports of symptoms, allowing patients and clinical providers to monitor symptom response to acupressure self-treatment. The long- term goal is to improve quality of life for cancer patients suffering from fatigue and sleep disturbances using acupressure as a safe, universally affordable self-care technique. The team will first develop a fully functional prototype app, validating data accuracy and debugging programming. Specific aim 1 is to confirm cancer patients can accurately and consistently self-administer two acupressure protocols using the app. Specific aim 2 is to assess the usability of the app and the fitness tracker. Using an integrated agile, user-centered approach, 20 patients with cancer who are experiencing fatigue will use the app to self-administer acupressure (twice daily for 1 week) while wearing a fitness tracker. User performance video-recordings, and feedback via talk-aloud session, debriefing, and exit interview, will be used to improve all prototype app features in sprints. Results will provide evidence of feasibility and usability: specifically, the EnergyPoints prototype app can teach and guide cancer patients to perform acupressure as directed, is acceptable, and can connect and accurately share important health data from a fitness tracker. In a subsequent Phase 2 SBIR application, a clinical trial is planned to examine efficacy of the app in improving fatigue and sleep in a sample of cancer patients. Additionally, EnergyPoints App features will be extended by adding: 1) use of essential oils; 2) tailored acupressure delivery; 3) clinical monitoring to integrate with cancer care; 4) social connection features, 5) additional measures (e.g. pain, depression, activation) and 6) compatibility with other trackers (e.g. Amazon Halo). Potential users include millions of cancer patients before and after treatment. The initial commercialization strategy includes multiple revenue streams and marketing directed towards patients, caregivers, practitioners, cancer centers, hospitals, medical practices, and corporate sponsors. Public Health Relevance Statement PROJECT NARRATIVE Cancer-related fatigue and sleep disturbances afflict millions of cancer patients. Evidence suggests the use of specific acupressure protocols may ameliorate these under-treated and debilitating effects of cancer and cancer therapies. In this SBIR, 5 Point App will develop and test EnergyPoints App, a multi-functional and connected mobile app to teach, guide, and motivate potentially millions of cancer patients to practice safe, convenient, and affordable daily acupressure for self-management of their fatigue and sleep disturbance.
Project Terms: Acupuncture Points ; Acupoints ; Adoption ; Affect ; Aftercare ; After Care ; After-Treatment ; post treatment ; Malignant Neoplasms ; Cancers ; Malignant Tumor ; malignancy ; neoplasm/cancer ; Clinical Trials ; Computer Systems ; computing system ; Mental Depression ; depression ; Diagnosis ; Exercise ; Fatigue ; Lack of Energy ; Feedback ; Goals ; Health ; Hospitals ; Insurance ; Interview ; Mainstreaming ; Educational Mainstreaming ; achievement Mainstream Education ; Marketing ; Methods ; United States National Institutes of Health ; NIH ; National Institutes of Health ; Volatile Oils ; Essential Oils ; Pain ; Painful ; Patients ; pressure ; Quality of life ; QOL ; Questionnaires ; Recommendation ; Research ; Science ; Self Administration ; Self-Administered ; Self Care ; personal care ; Sleep ; Sleep Deprivation ; deficient sleep ; inadequate sleep ; insufficient sleep ; sleep debt ; sleep deficiency ; sleep deficit ; sleep insufficiency ; sleep loss ; Sleep disturbances ; aberrant sleep ; disrupted sleep ; disturbed sleep ; impaired sleep ; irregular sleep ; sleep disruption ; sleep dysregulation ; Computer software ; Software ; Testing ; Time ; Video Recording ; Videorecording ; video recording system ; Measures ; Caregivers ; Care Givers ; Competence ; Self Management ; improved ; Clinical ; Phase ; Biological ; Medical ; Evaluation ; Distress ; Individual ; Funding ; Randomized Controlled Trials ; Acupressure ; Ischemic Compression ; Stream ; Protocol ; Protocols documentation ; Techniques ; Location ; instructor ; American ; experience ; Performance ; novel ; Participant ; Self-Report ; Patient Self-Report ; Devices ; Reporting ; social ; Iatrogenic Cancer ; Therapy Related Malignant Neoplasm ; Therapy Related Malignant Tumor ; Therapy-Associated Cancers ; Therapy-Related Cancer ; Treatment-Associated Cancer ; Treatment-Related Cancer ; Emotional ; Sampling ; response ; Cancer Treatment ; Malignant Neoplasm Therapy ; Malignant Neoplasm Treatment ; anti-cancer therapy ; anticancer therapy ; cancer-directed therapy ; cancer therapy ; cancer care ; Provider ; Effectiveness ; Patient Compliance ; patient adherence ; patient cooperation ; therapy compliance ; therapy cooperation ; treatment compliance ; compliance behavior ; Cancer Fatigue ; Dose ; fitness ; Symptoms ; Adherence ; Data ; Cancer Center ; Cancer Patient ; Cancer Survivor ; survive cancer ; Small Business Innovation Research Grant ; SBIR ; Small Business Innovation Research ; Monitor ; Modification ; Instruction ; cost ; design ; designing ; efficacy evaluation ; efficacy analysis ; efficacy assessment ; efficacy examination ; evaluate efficacy ; examine efficacy ; Outcome ; usability ; prototype ; commercialization ; clinical care ; evidence base ; mHealth ; m-Health ; mobile health ; mobile application ; mobile app ; mobile device application ; health data ; fitbit ; disabling symptom ; debilitating symptom ; symptom treatment ; symptomatic treatment ; treat symptom ; Nonpharmacologic Therapy ; Non-pharmacologic Therapy ; Apple watch ; applewatch ;
