Visualizing Complex Patient-Reported Outcome Data to Support Follow-Up of Head and Neck Cancer Patients

Abstract

In the follow-up of patients with head and neck cancers (HNC), Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO) are insufficiently used as immediate treatment feedback although they could support both physician-patient communication and physicians’ decision making. Physicians’ everyday work in routine clinical care is often characterized by lack of time, workload pressure and inadequate resources. To allow for efficient and effective review of the complex heterogeneous outcome data, a hierarchical information structure was developed with regard to a dashboard paradigm for an interactive tablet-based system. Applying a user-centered process, a structure of top-level categories and their contents was constructed in cooperation with physicians specialized in Otolaryngology. These categories contain both questionnaire scores and standalone metrics with indicators for need of intervention. Considering the suitability of a patient overview dashboard, corresponding design guidelines have been identified. The developed application, which is currently used in the follow-care of HNC patients in a prospective non-randomized controlled monocentric care trial, has been iteratively tailored for routine clinical care using a rapid prototyping approach. A particular focus was on the form factor, interaction capabilities and limitations of tablet computers regarding the overall usability of the dashboard.