Poster Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

Developing Finding My Way-Micro: a tailored, reduced-dose, digital mental health intervention for people with cancer. Can we achieve more with less? (126150)

Morgan Leske 1 , Amy Rigg 1 , Emma Kemp 2 3 , Bogda Koczwara 4 , Nicholas Hulbert-Williams 5 , Joanne Shaw 6 , Lisa Beatty 1
  1. College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Finders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  2. Cancer Council SA, Adelaide, SA, Australia
  3. College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University , Adelaide, SA, Australia
  4. Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  5. Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, England
  6. Psycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Objectives/purpose

While digital health interventions are efficacious in reducing cancer-related distress, engagement is often sub-optimal, possibly due to time or cognitive burden. To maintain intervention efficacy, while minimising participation burden, this study aimed to co-design a reduced-dose version of Finding My Way (FMW), an online psychosocial intervention for people diagnosed with cancer.  

Sample and setting

This two-phase study involved: (1) archival baseline and engagement data from three FMW trial datasets with a total of 324 participants diagnosed with curatively treated cancer; and (2) online focus groups and interviews with nine psycho-oncology clinicians.

Procedures

Phase 1 involved retrospective analysis using descriptive statistics to summarise usage patterns, which informed a prototype reduced-dose version (FMW-Micro). Phase 2 used online focus groups and interviews with clinicians to iteratively co-design FMW-Micro, presenting the initial prototype for clinicians’ feedback on essential or missing content.

Results

Across trials, the mean number of modules accessed was 2.87 (SD=2.26). Module usage declined across the program, with users primarily accessing the first three of six available modules: ‘navigating healthcare’ (74%), ‘physical symptoms’ (59%), and ‘emotional distress’ (63%).  Participating clinicians worked in tertiary cancer centres (n=7) and private practices (n=2) with a range of experience (1–24 years) supporting people with cancer. All clinicians endorsed emotional distress as essential content. They considered the first three module topics most relevant to the acute stage of cancer survivorship, with relevance depending on the users’ cancer type and treatment. Most clinicians were satisfied with the three modules but recommended adding content on social support, identity, intimacy, and grief, along with simplified activities.

Conclusion and clinical implications

A reduced-dose version of FMW using the first three modules is appropriate, however additional content is required to ensure it remains relevant for all stages of survivorship. A prototype of FMW-M is ready for end-user (cancer consumer) feedback.