Telehealth applied to physical activity during cancer treatment: a feasibility, acceptability, and randomized pilot study

Abstract

Surprisingly, the level of exercise in group R did not significantly increase, but self-reported fatigue and quality of life were improved. This study underlines that inexpensive sharing of time, human, and financial means, through a protocol of physical activity, improves patient health.

Impact of the Method of Delivering Electronic Health Behavior Change Interventions in Survivors of Cancer on Engagement, Health Behaviors, and Health Outcomes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A total of 24 studies were included in this review; 11 studies were delivered via synchronous and asynchronous methods, respectively, with 2 studies using a combined approach ( Figure 1 ). The studies were predominantly delivered in the United States with 13 studies [ 37 , 41 - 52 ]; 3 in Australia [ 35 , 36 , 53 ], South Korea [ 33 , 54 , 55 ], and the Netherlands [ 56 - 58 ]; and 1 in Canada [ 59 ] and France [ 60 ]. The total sample size was 4583, ranging from n=18 to n=641.…”

“…There were a range of different cancer types targeted during the study interventions: 7 unspecified cancer types [ 45 , 49 , 50 , 52 , 55 - 57 , 60 ]; 6 breast cancer [ 33 , 35 , 42 , 51 , 54 , 61 ]; 2 colon or colorectal [ 36 , 43 ]; 2 breast, prostate, or colorectal [ 44 , 59 ]; 2 melanoma [ 41 , 53 ]; and 1 each of breast/colon or rectal [ 37 ], colorectal or prostate [ 58 ], prostate [ 46 ], and urothelial cell carcinoma [ 47 ]. The majority of studies focused on posttreatment (also reported as survivors) with 17 studies [ 33 , 36 , 37 , 41 , 43 - 45 , 49 - 56 , 59 , 61 ], 6 studies included patients during active cancer treatment (2 used survivors and active cancer treatment) [ 35 , 42 , 47 , 57 , 58 , 60 ], and 1 study included patients undergoing surveillance for their cancer [ 46 ]. Of the 24 studies included in this review, 19 provided data on a measure of physical activity behavior change [ 33 , 35 - 37 , 42 - 45 , 48 - 50 , 54 - 57 , 59 ] and 9 studies provided data on a measure of dietary behavior change [ 33 , 36 , 42 , 44 - 47 , 54 , 56 ]; 2...…”

“…Of the 19 studies in this review that presented data on physical activity as a behavior change outcome, 15 studies were included in this meta-analysis [ 35 - 37 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 48 - 51 , 54 , 57 - 60 ] and a further 4 could not be included as the data were presented in a format incompatible with meta-analysis [ 33 , 43 , 55 , 56 ]. There was a finding in favor of eHealth interventions (SMD 0.34; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.48) for increasing physical activity behaviors ( Figure 4 ).…”

“…There were 13 studies that provided data on quality of life [ 33 , 35 - 37 , 42 - 44 , 49 , 54 , 55 , 58 - 60 ]; 2 meta-analyses were performed as data were presented as a combination of final scores and change scores. Of the 7 studies that provided final scores, there was a favorable impact of the intervention for the synchronous (SMD 0.25; 95% CI −0.36 to 0.87) and combined (SMD 0.35; 95% CI −0.25 to 0.95) eHealth interventions on quality of life.…”

“…There were a total of 10 studies that presented data on fatigue [ 33 , 35 - 37 , 45 , 50 , 54 , 55 , 58 , 60 , 63 ]. Of the 6 studies using final scores, synchronous (SMD 1.03; 95% CI 0.41-1.66) and combined (SMD 0.23; 95% CI −0.37 to 0.83) interventions showed a favorable impact on fatigue.…”