Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Cancer Center At Illinois, Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
J Cancer Surviv. 2022 Oct;16(5):1107-1116. doi: 10.1007/s11764-021-01101-y. Epub 2021 Aug 28.
The use of yoga as a mind-body practice has become increasingly popular among clinical populations and older adults who use this practice to manage age and chronic disease-related symptoms. Although yoga continues to gain popularity among practitioners and researchers, pilot studies that examine its feasibility and acceptability, especially among cancer survivors, are limited. Feasibility studies play a critical role in determining whether the target population is likely to engage with larger scale efficacy and effectiveness trials. In this paper we present feasibility and acceptability data from a 12-week randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted with adult cancer survivors.
Participants n = 78 (Mean age: 55 years) were randomized to one of three groups: a Hatha yoga, aerobic exercise, or stretching-toning control group with group exercise classes held for 150 min/week for 12 weeks. Herein we report feasibility and acceptability, including enrollment rates, attendance, attrition and adverse events, and participant feedback and satisfaction data.
Of the 233 adults screened, 109 were eligible and 78 randomized to one of the three intervention arms. Session attendance was high for all groups (75.5-89.5%) and 17 participants dropped out during the 12-week intervention. Program satisfaction was high (4.8 or higher out of 5) and no adverse events were reported. One cohort (n = 15) of the intervention transitioned to remote intervention delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Feasibility data from these participants suggested that synchronized group exercise classes via Zoom with a live instructor were acceptable and enjoyable. Participant feedback regarding most and least helpful aspects of the program as well as suggestions for future yoga interventions are summarized.
Overall, the yoga intervention was highly feasible and acceptable. The feasibility parameters from this trial can aid researchers in estimating recruitment rates for desired sample sizes to successfully randomize and retain cancer survivors in short- and long-term yoga-based efficacy and effectiveness trials. The findings also provide evidence to clinicians who can recommend up to 150 min of a combination of exercises-aerobic, yoga, or stretching-toning to their cancer patients in order to improve health and wellbeing during cancer survivorship.
瑜伽作为一种身心练习，在临床人群和老年人中越来越受欢迎，他们使用这种练习来控制与年龄和慢性疾病相关的症状。尽管瑜伽在从业者和研究人员中继续流行，但针对其可行性和可接受性的试点研究，尤其是针对癌症幸存者的研究，仍然有限。可行性研究在确定目标人群是否有可能参与更大规模的疗效和有效性试验方面起着至关重要的作用。在本文中，我们介绍了一项针对成年癌症幸存者进行的 12 周随机对照试验 (RCT) 的可行性和可接受性数据。
参与者 n=78（平均年龄：55 岁）被随机分为三组：哈他瑜伽组、有氧运动组或拉伸-塑形对照组，每周进行 150 分钟的团体运动课程，为期 12 周。本文报告了可行性和可接受性，包括入组率、出勤率、脱落率和不良事件以及参与者的反馈和满意度数据。
在 233 名接受筛查的成年人中，有 109 名符合条件，78 名被随机分配到三个干预组中的一个。所有组的课程出勤率都很高（75.5-89.5%），有 17 名参与者在 12 周的干预过程中退出。对该项目的满意度很高（5 分制中 4.8 分或以上），且没有报告不良事件。由于 COVID-19 大流行，一个干预组（n=15）过渡到远程干预交付。来自这些参与者的可行性数据表明，通过 Zoom 与现场教练同步进行团体运动课程是可以接受和愉快的。参与者还就该项目最有帮助和最没有帮助的方面以及对未来瑜伽干预的建议提供了反馈。
总体而言，瑜伽干预措施具有高度的可行性和可接受性。本试验的可行性参数可以帮助研究人员估计所需样本量的招募率，以便成功随机分配并在短期和长期的基于瑜伽的疗效和有效性试验中保留癌症幸存者。这些发现还为临床医生提供了证据，他们可以向癌症患者推荐高达 150 分钟的有氧运动、瑜伽或拉伸-塑形练习，以改善癌症生存期间的健康和幸福感。
