Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Nov;29(11):1823-1834.
doi: 10.1002/pon.5492. Epub 2020 Oct 11.

Beating cancer-related fatigue with the Untire mobile app: Results from a waiting-list randomized controlled trial

Simon Sebastian Spahrkäs  1 , Anne Looijmans  1 , Robbert Sanderman  1   2 , Mariët Hagedoorn  1
Affiliations

Beating cancer-related fatigue with the Untire mobile app: Results from a waiting-list randomized controlled trial

Simon Sebastian Spahrkäs et al. Psychooncology. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: This waiting-list randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of a self-management mHealth app in improving fatigue and quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients and survivors.

Methods: Persons with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) were recruited across four English speaking countries, via social media, and randomized into intervention (n = 519) and control (n = 280) groups. Whereas the intervention group received immediate access to the Untire app, the control group received access only after 12-weeks. Primary outcomes fatigue severity and interference, and secondary outcome QoL were assessed at baseline, 4, 8, and 12-weeks. We ran generalized linear mixed models for all outcomes to determine the effects of app access (yes/no), over 12-weeks, following the intention-to-treat principle.

Results: Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significantly larger improvements in fatigue severity (d = 0.40), fatigue interference (d = 0.35), and overall QoL on average (d = 0.32) (P's < .01), but not for overall QoL in the past week (P = .07). Sensitivity analyses indicated that participants with medium or high app use benefited most when compared with nonusers and control participants (P's ≤ .02). The intervention effect on fatigue interference was slightly stronger in younger participants (≤56 vs. >56). Effects did not depend on education and cancer status. Reliable change analyses indicated that significantly more people showed full recovery for fatigue in the intervention vs the control group (P's = .02).

Conclusions: The Untire app can be an effective mHealth solution for cancer patients and survivors with moderate to severe CRF.

Keywords: RCT; app; cancer; cancer survivors; fatigue; mHealth; oncology; palliative care; psycho‐oncology; quality of life; self‐management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The University Medical Center Groningen received funding from Tired of Cancer BV., the developer of the Untire app, to study its effectiveness independently. Independence is declared in a research agreement.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Participant flow (CONSORT diagram) in the Untire app study. The figure presents the FSI at T0 and at T12, the number of completed assessments, and the number of participants who underwent the intervention (i.e., activated the app)
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Change in levels of fatigue severity, A and in fatigue interference, B, over time and between conditions. Sensitivity analyses for fatigue severity, C and fatigue interference, D, based on four groups of app use (high, medium, low, nonusers' participants) and waiting‐list control participants. Change in overall QoL during the past week, E, and change in overall QoL on average over time and between conditions, F. Error bars present the 95% confidence interval. QoL, quality of life
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Berger AM, Mooney K, Alvarez‐Perez A, et al. Cancer‐related fatigue, version 2.2015. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2015;13(8):1012‐1039. 10.6004/jnccn.2015.0122. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bower JE. Cancer‐related fatigue‐‐mechanisms, risk factors, and treatments. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2014;11(10):597‐609. 10.1038/nrclinonc.2014.127. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Seiler A, Klaas V, Tröster G, Fagundes CP. eHealth and mHealth interventions in the treatment of fatigued cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Psycho‐oncology. 2017;26(9):1239‐1253. 10.1002/pon.4489. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tate EB, Spruijt‐Metz D, O'Reilly G, et al. mHealth approaches to child obesity prevention: successes, unique challenges, and next directions. Transl Behav Med. 2013;3:406‐415. 10.1007/s13142-013-0222-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bruggeman‐Everts FZ, Wolvers MDJ, van de Schoot R, Vollenbroek‐Hutten MMR, Van der Lee ML. Effectiveness of two web‐based interventions for chronic cancer‐related fatigue compared to an active control condition: results of the “fitter na Kanker” randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2017;19(10):e336 10.2196/jmir.7180. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types