Self-management support for patients with incurable cancer and their partners: The eHealth application Oncokompas and organization of psycho-oncological care

This thesis contributes to the knowledge on the efficacy and cost-utility of eHealth applications stimulating self-management in palliative cancer care, in particular among incurably ill cancer patients and their partners. This knowledge can be used to develop eHealth self-management interventions as part of palliative cancer care, and for their implementation and evaluation. This thesis showed no significant effects of Oncokompas regarding its efficacy and cost-utility among incurably ill cancer patients and their partners. More studies are needed on self-guided behavioral self-management interventions to be able to make a comprehensive and well-founded statement of their role in supporting self-management in palliative cancer care. However, it is important for palliative care services and psycho-oncological care that those services are easily available and accessible, to optimally support incurably ill cancer patients and partners of incurably ill cancer patients with care needs when facing challenges as a result of cancer.