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RACS ASC 2026
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An innovative solution to a growing clinical need: using a mobile application ‘app’ to screen for anxiety in breast cancer patients.
Poster

Poster

Disciplines

Breast Surgery

Presentation Description

Institution: Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital - Queensland, Australia

Purpose: Breast Cancer services are responsible for an ever-growing cohort of patients. Many centres cannot provide adequate mental health support, hindering the delivery of holistic patient centred care. This has an established impact on patients’ cancer journey and survivorship. Innovative solutions using existing technology can certainly address this important clinical need. Methodology: This is a prospective feasibility pilot study on a cohort of 30 patients at various stages of their breast cancer journey. Patients are recruited in the outpatient setting, and all patients with a smart device are eligible. We use the “iyarn” app, a validated mobile app developed in Western Australia which has been readily utilised in the mental health, Indigenous and rural health spaces. It is used to “check in” with patients in a flexible manner using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS). Patients scan a QR code to answer a total of 20 questions regarding mental health and usability of the app. Their results are forwarded to the Principal Investigator (consultant breast surgeon) who then actions appropriate clinical care, including referrals to a psychologist. The app also provides validated online resources regarding self-care and anxiety management. Results: Ethics approval has been granted and funding is secured. Recruitment is underway and we look forward to presenting our results at the conference. Conclusion: iyarn has the potential to revolutionise patient centred holistic care in breast cancer. Our clinics are inundated, with clinicians having limited time to review our patients’ mental health and wellbeing. Many centres have limited psychologist access, and so this app will help stratify patients’ clinical need based on the HADS score. In the future, we will conduct a multi-site study and aim to utilise the app across multiple occasions throughout a patient’s cancer journey.
Presenters
Authors
Authors

Dr Andrew Jiang - , Dr Madison Bowles - , Dr Tony Mallett - , Dr Aroosha Safari -