Wesley KM, et al. – This research strived to appraise the utility mobile applications with adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients. It was inferred that the mobile applications were growing in number and had become increasingly available to AYAs with and without chronic illness. These applications may prove useful in helping to support AYAs throughout their cancer treatment and beyond. Few applications yielded empirical data in support of their utility. Several strengths and benefits of these applications encompassed greater accessibility to educational resources and self–management strategies, more frequent physical and emotional symptom tracking, and increased access to peer support. Regardless of these strengths, there existed various limitations, which warranted advanced research.

Methods

• The articles were selected through online searches and reference lists (eg, PsycInfo, PubMed).
• These were appraised by two study team members for target population, stated purpose, technological utilization, sample size, demographic characteristics, and outcome data.
• It involved the elucidation of the strengths and weaknesses of each study.

Results

• Among the 19 identified manuscripts, six met full inclusion criteria (four smartphone applications and two tablet applications).
• One additional article was reviewed that included an application not specific to oncology but included AYA patients with cancer within the target sample.
• The applications' utility included symptom tracking, pain management, monitoring of eating habits following bone marrow transplant, monitoring of mucositis, and improving medication management.
• Utility results from pilot studies were illustrated in this research.