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Using Technology to Enhance Cancer Communication and Improve Clinical Outcomes
Investigator: David H. Gustafson, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Website: http://chess2.chsra.wisc.edu/tecc/index.htm

Reducing the burden of cancer for those who suffer unnecessarily for lack of support or information

Although the scientific community has a distinguished history of fighting to ease the burden of cancer by targeting cells, tissues, and organs, we are just beginning address the enormous psycho-social and functional problems confronting cancer patients in their daily lives. The vision of our center is to decrease this burden of cancer for those who suffer for lack of timely support or information. Our CECCR work will advance the technology of Interactive Cancer Communication Systems (ICCS), our knowledge of outcomes and mechanisms of effect, and enhance the theory base around which such systems can be developed and tested.

Research project summaries:

• Effectiveness of the CHESS eHealth Cancer Support Intervention in Population-based Care, (Timothy Baker, PI), takes ICCS beyond the traditional constraints of randomized clinical trials by assessing how well an experimentally tested ICCS will penetrate a population given universal access to it, while also assessing the business case for doing so. The Effectiveness study allows us to test disseminating an ICCS as normal care within a large managed care organization.



• ICCS in Lung Cancer, Evaluating Survival Benefits, (James Cleary, PI), pursues an unexpected trend identified in our prior experience: benefits in actual survival of lung cancer patients, not just quality of life. We will validate this important discovery and analyze the mechanism of action in the context of patients, caregivers, and the clinical environment to determine how these benefits are obtained, expanding the capabilities of eHealth interventions.



• ICCS Directed Physical Activity Enhancement for Colon Cancer Surviviors, (David Gustafson, PI) moves to a different portion of the cancer continuum to support colon cancer survivors in lifestyle changes that sustain the benefits of initial cancer treatment. It aims to do so with technology changes that could vastly expand the reach and effectiveness of eHealth in general. This study extends our work to target the transition from initial treatment to extended survival, and provides the opportunity to influence a myriad of survivor outcomes. The system we develop and test will employ small, mobile devices (i.e. smart phones) that will enhance engagement with ICCS among survivors with limited reading skills.

For full descriptions: Wisconsin Overview December 2008