Design Requirements of Breast Cancer Symptom-Management Apps
| dc.contributor.author | Huang, Xinyi | |
| dc.contributor.author | Winter, Emily | |
| dc.contributor.author | Fayoumi, Amjad | |
| dc.contributor.author | Najdawi, Anas | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-01-19T07:36:17Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-01-19T07:36:17Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description | Over the past decade, pathways for breast cancer follow-up care in high-income settings have shifted decisively from scheduled hospital visits toward supported self-management models [1,2]. In the United Kingdom, for instance, approximately 70–75% of women with stage I–III breast cancer [3] are discharged from routine oncology clinics after primary treatment and instead monitor symptoms from home, accessing rapid response services only when red-flag symptoms arise [4,5,6]. This home-centred care pathway empowers patients and reduces outpatient congestion, yet it also creates an information gap: clinicians seldom obtain contemporaneous data on the side effects that emerge between visits, and patients may be uncertain whether selfcare is sufficient or clinical escalation is warranted [7]. | |
| dc.description.abstract | Many breast cancer patients follow a self-managed treatment pathway, which may lead to gaps in the data available to healthcare professionals, such as information about patients’ everyday symptoms at home. Mobile apps have the potential to bridge this information gap, leading to more effective treatments and interventions, as well as helping breast cancer patients monitor and manage their symptoms. In this paper, we elicit design requirements for breast cancer symptom-management mobile apps using a systematic review following the PRISMA framework. We then evaluate existing cancer symptom-management apps found on the Apple store according to the extent to which they meet these requirements. We find that, whilst some requirements are well supported (such as functionality to record multiple symptoms and provision of information), others are currently not being met, particularly interoperability, functionality related to responses from healthcare professionals, and personalisation. Much work is needed for cancer patients and healthcare professionals to experience the benefits of digital health innovation. The article demonstrates a formal requirements model, in which requirements are categorised as functional and non-functional, and presents a proposal for conceptual design for future mobile apps. keywords: artificial intelligence; breast cancer; digital health; human-centered design; mHealth; mobile apps; oncology; requirements elicitation; self-management; symptom management | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Huang, X., Fayoumi, A., Winter, E., & Najdawi, A. (2025, July). Design requirements of breast cancer symptom-management apps. In Informatics (Vol. 12, No. 3, p. 72). MDPI. | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics12030072 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://repository.adu.ac.ae/handle/1/8017 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) | |
| dc.title | Design Requirements of Breast Cancer Symptom-Management Apps | |
| dc.type | Other |