Content and design considerations for digital supportive care tools for patients with cancer: A textual statistical analysis of patients’, relatives’, and healthcare professionals’ perspectives

Access to supportive care remains a major public health concern. Digital tools are increasingly used in healthcare to address supportive care needs. It is essential to understand the needs and perspectives of the end users of these tools, including patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals (HCPs), to design and implement an option that effectively supports cancer patients and their relatives. This study was conducted to document and compare the perspectives of patients, relatives, and HCPs in France to identify perceived facilitators and barriers to the use of digital supportive care tools, as well as these individuals’ expectations regarding tool development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three different groups: 38 patients with cancer (including two unusable interviews), 20 relatives, and 43 HCPs. The interviews were analysed using textual statistical analysis in IRaMuTeQ. Four classes emerged from the analysis: (1) cancer experience, (2) patient care, (3) imagination and positioning in the conceptualisation of the digital tool: the content, and (4) tool shape: the container. Across the three groups, there was broad agreement regarding identified needs and potential solutions. Participants did not conceptualise digital supportive tools as a care or treatment device, but rather as an informational and reflexive space, centred on the ability to seek, think, choose, and express oneself, while preserving human mediation. This finding is important because it highlights a shift in digital health toward a customisable empowerment tool that integrates patients and relatives, accounts for usage barriers, and is designed as an optional complement rather than a prescriptive solution. The results also highlight the importance of user-centred, accessible, and tailored approaches in tool development.