CONCLUSION
cancer
ADVERSE EFFECTS, CANCER, STILL
In conclusion, in a randomized controlled trial, patients undergoing chemotherapy randomized to use an app to support self‐management activities reported having fewer office visits during the 3‐month intervention compared to controls, with no adverse effects or changes in other study outcomes. Although there are hundreds of health apps available to support patients undergoing cancer treatment, few have been rigorously evaluated. This study is the first to show that an app designed to support self‐management functions helped patients better understand and coordinate their treatment plan resulting in fewer office visits. Still, nearly a quarter of patients randomized to the intervention arm reported never using the app and among app users, fewer than half found it useful. Barriers to using the app included personal preference, privacy concerns, and usability challenges. To address these challenges, future studies should focus efforts to improve user‐centered design and test strategies to increase awareness and willingness to use apps for heath management. Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that not all patients will want to use apps to support their care. More research is needed to understand the mechanism for app use to reduce the need for office visits and its impact on longer‐term health outcomes.