Electronic Assessment and Tracking of Pain at Home: A Prospective Study in Children With Hematologic or Solid Tumors

This study aimed to evaluate the intensity and characteristics of pain, which was assessed at home by children with cancer or their parents using an app for mobile devices, for a 1-month poststudy enrollment. The participants of this observational prospective study were outpatients at the hematology/oncology department of an academic hospital in Italy, aged between 0 and 21 years, and receiving hospital-at-home care. Patients or their parents were asked to assess pain levels for one month at home using the Faces, Legs, Arms, Cry, and Consolability (FLACC) scale for patients aged <4 years and the Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù (OPBG) tool for patients aged 4 to 21 years. At study conclusion, parents were asked to complete a survey about their satisfaction with the app and to rate their child's health in general, pain intensity, and frequency in the past 4 weeks. Of the 124 participants using the app, 94 (75.8%) reported pain (≥1) at least once during the 1 month. Of these, 53 (56.4%) at most reported mild pain, 33 (35.1%) moderate pain, and eight (8.5%) severe pain. The abdomen was identified as the most frequent (56.3%) pain site by patients aged 4 to 21 years. The child's maximum pain intensity during the study period was negatively correlated with the parent's report of the child's health during the past month (r = -.29, p < .01). Most of the participants were satisfied with the app and the information received about app usage. In conclusion, the app facilitated pain assessment and tracking in patients receiving hospital-at-home care.