Limitations
early-stage disease, Prostate cancer, mental illness, prostate cancer
DISEASE, PROSTATE CANCER, PROSTATE CANCER
Prostate cancer patients with mental illness, who were incapable of taking care of themselves, who did not have a smartphone, or who were single and living alone were excluded from this study. These exclusions may limit the efficacy and the inferences of the preliminary results. Patients with prostate cancer who were in different disease stages, annual household income, and occupational status and underwent hormone therapy were included in this study but may have had differing needs for information. Moreover, this is a pilot study, and the sample size was small. Large-sample and multi-institutional randomized trials with long-term follow-up that include patients with high homogeneity in early-stage disease and basic information are warranted to determine the efficacy of the multimedia-based HTIP. The CG in the present study received routine care, which posed challenges in achieving a truly blinded design. Future research could explore the possibility of implementing an attention control group to enhance internal validity