Symptom management in cancer care: An evolutionary concept analysis for a digitally enabled collaborative framework.

TL;DR

An evolutionary concept analysis identified six core attributes of cancer symptom management (dynamism, continuity, multidimensionality, multi-stakeholder collaboration, intervention diversity, and individual variability) and proposes a novel paradigm integrating digital health and collaborative care.

Key findings

• Cancer symptom management requires multi-professional collaboration and is distinguished from related concepts like symptom control, palliative care, and self-management
• Key antecedents include patient self-management capacity, health literacy, professional assessment, and systemic support; outcomes include improved quality of life and reduced symptom burden
• Digital empowerment and multi-stakeholder collaboration form the proposed paradigm for contemporary symptom management
• Future work should address cross-contextual validation, standardization of measurement instruments, and balanced integration of technology with patient-centered care

Why this matters at the bedside

Provides a clarified theoretical framework and updated conceptual definition of cancer symptom management that can guide clinical practice, intervention development, and the design of digitally-enabled collaborative care models for cancer patients.