Perceived changes to quality of life indicators following a physical activity intervention for recovering cancer patients: A qualitative study.

Abstract

Aim:The aim of this study was to examine the perceived changes in quality of life (QoL) for a group of recovering cancer patients, following 6 months of physical activity. Background: Evidence suggests that physical activity can improve the QoL of recovering cancer patients, reducing many of the side-effects of cancer and its related treatments, including depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, with an improvement in physical and psychological health. Method: A qualitative study with 14 mixed site cancer patients aged 43-70 (12 women, 2 men). The intervention was in 2 parts the first part was an 8-week physical activity programme, the second part related to a period of non-supervised, physical activity for 4 months (6 months in total). The programme took place at a University in the South West of England, UK. Semi-structured interviews with patients took place 3 times over 6 months. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data. Results: We found that prior to the 6-month physical activity intervention many of the patients were anxious about being able to complete the initial 8 week programme. Anxieties related to low self-esteem and the chronic fatigue resulting from their cancer treatment. Consequently, several patients expressed concerns about their ability to help themselves self-manage their recovery through physical activity. On completion of the intervention the majority of patients described improvements in their perceived QoL in terms of their ability to self-manage and to engage in their self-efficacy, reporting increased energy levels and decreases in chronic fatigue. Conclusion: Our study has provided valuable insights into how the perceived QoL of a group of recovering cancer patients can be improved through a combined 6-month period of supervised and independent physical activity. These findings serve as further evidence of the effectiveness of a person-centered healthcare approach for recovering cancer patients.

The impact of physical activity for recovering cancer patients

“…The following data analysis techniques were applied to the 3 studies by Queen et al [5,7,8]. The memoranda that emerged from the 3 previous coding processes were used as the method for generating grounded theory in this study.…”

“…The first author advanced theoretical development through selective coding and the application of the axial coding paradigm. For details, see Queen et al, [5,7,8], the fourth author assisted by reviewing this process [27]. Memoranda were used to explore the different dimensions of the emergent themes from the axial coded data and the first author reviewed this process.…”

“…Physical activity is beneficial for cancer survivors health [1][2][3][4][5][6] enabling wide-reaching benefits during and after cancer treatment [5,7,8]. Despite these known benefits physical activity levels across the UK remain low with only 4000 (20%) out of a total of 2 million cancer survivors meeting the minimum recommended physical activity guidelines for sustaining an independent and disability-free lifestyle [9].…”

“…By their nature, physical activity interventions that use qualitative methodologies to collect and analyse patient data for chronic disease such as cancer, fit well with the person-centered healthcare approach to health promotion [24]. Placing patients at the centre of the research and using their experiences to inform, improve and develop services further, not only serves to reduce the financial burden of chronic disease to the NHS, but has also been shown to have a positive impact on patient recovery [5,7,8,26]. Miles & Asbridge [24] have identified the importance of the person-centered healthcare approach in enabling individual clinicians, clinical teams and healthcare systems to assist and accompany patients and their families along their chronic illness trajectories.…”

“…The socio-ecological model of health as developed by Dahlgren & Whitehead [25] places the patient at the centre of the healthcare process and builds systems around them to promote their health and wellbeing. This model has been used effectively to promote the health and wellbeing of chronic disease patients through the medium of physical activity generally and specifically for recovering cancer patients [5,7,8,26]. Therefore, the intention of this paper is to further examine the findings from 3 published studies [5,7,8] in order to draw out a series of key themes and ideas that might be used to inform and enhance the recovery process for cancer patients engaging with a physical activity intervention.…”