Feasibility and benefits of a videoconferencing-based home exercise programme for paediatric cancer survivors during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to determine the feasibility and benefits of a videoconferencing-based home exercise programme to improve health-related quality of life (HRQOL), posttraumatic growth and physical strength levels of paediatric cancer survivors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

METHODS

Eight paediatric cancer survivors participated in the intervention for 8 weeks. The programme comprised home exercise sessions administered using Zoom, a videoconferencing platform. The supervised exercise sessions were performed two times per week; the participants were taught to perform joint exercises at home for the remaining 5 days of the week. HRQOL, posttraumatic growth and physical strength levels were assessed at baseline and after the intervention.

RESULTS

The rates of recruitment, retention and attendance were 52.9%, 88.9% and 98.4%, respectively. There were no cases of adverse events. The programme significantly improved flexibility (z = -2.21, p = 0.03), muscle strength (z = -2.67, p = 0.01) and power (z = -2.41, p = 0.02) among five domains of physical fitness measured using a physical activity promotion system and also improved total physical strength (z = -2.67, p = 0.01). Posttraumatic growth decreased slightly, whereas HRQOL improved slightly; however, the change was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

The study findings present preliminary evidence of the feasibility and benefits of this videoconferencing-based home exercise programme among paediatric cancer survivors.