Extending Computer Technology to Hospice Research: Interactive Pentablet Measurement of Symptoms by Hospice Cancer Patients in Their Homes

Abstract We aimed to determine the acceptability and feasibility of a pentablet-based software program, PAINReportIt®-Plus, as a means for patients with cancer in home hospice to report their symptoms and differences in acceptability by demographic variables. Of the 131 participants (mean age = 59 ± 13, 58% women, 48.1% African American), 44% had never used a computer, but all participants easily used the computerized tool and reported an average computer acceptability score of 10.3 ± 1.8, indicating high acceptability. Participants required an average of 19.1 ± 9.5 minutes to complete the pain section, 9.8 ± 6.5 minutes for the medication section, and 4.8 ± 2.3 minutes for the symptom section. The acceptability scores were not statistically different by demographic variables but time to complete the tool differed by racial/ethnic groups. Our findings demonstrate that terminally ill patients with cancer are willing and able to utilize computer pentablet technology to record and describe their pain and oth...