Assessment of a remote symptom monitoring in haematological cancer patients - a randomised controlled trial

INTERVENTION: Telehealth system with nurse led support. Patients complete a symptoms questionnaire twice daily on a device(morning and afternoon) from Cycle 1 ‐ Cycle 4 of chemotherapy. The intervention nurse monitors symptoms and responds if any alerts are triggered. A red alert occurs if a patient reports a symptom requiring urgent attention, a amber alert occurs if a patient reports a symptom requring non‐urgent attention. In the case of an alert, the nurse will contact the patient by phone and query the symptom, provide self care and support. The device is a mobile phone based system. The handset contains an application that prompts patients to complete a side‐effect assessment questionnaire by following instructions on the touch screen handset. Normal phone functions are disabled. All patients will be provided with the mobile phone handset and SIM card for the trial. CONDITION: Monitoring symptoms in haematological cancer patients PRIMARY OUTCOME: Psychological distress: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale Total Score ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet SECONDARY OUTCOME: Cancer treatment related information: Cancer Treatment Scale (CaTS) ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet Health utility: EQ5D ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet Patient activation: Patient Activation Measure ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet Patient health services and costs questionnaire: Questionnaire currently being developed for this trial. ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet Quality of life with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General (FACT‐G). ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet Symptom burden: Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) ; Completed with Patient Self Report in a questionnaire booklet INCLUSION CRITERIA: Have a diagnosis of one of three haematological cancers (Hodgkin's lymphoma, Non‐hodgkin's lymphoma or Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) Be receiving four or more cycles of chemotherapy treatment in a day treatment unit Be over 18 years of age