Division of Physical Activity, Prevention and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Center for Quality of Life, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Support Care Cancer. 2023 Apr 19;31(5):281. doi: 10.1007/s00520-023-07739-x.
Supervised exercise is a potentially promising supportive care intervention for people with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), but research on the patients' perspective is limited. The aim of the current focus group study was to gain an in-depth understanding of MBC patients' perceived barriers, facilitators, and preferences for supervised exercise programs.
Eleven online focus groups with, in total, 44 MBC patients were conducted in four European countries (Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden). Main topics of the semi-structured discussions covered attitudes towards participation in supervised exercise programs, perceived facilitators, experienced barriers, and exercise preferences. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and coded based on a preliminary coding framework, supplemented by themes emerging during the sessions. The codes were subsequently examined for interrelations and re-organized into overarching clusters.
Participants had positive attitudes towards exercise, but experienced physical limitations and insecurities that inhibited their participation. They expressed a strong desire for exercise tailored to their needs, and supervision by an exercise professional. Participants also highlighted the social nature of group training as an important facilitator. They had no clear preference for exercise type, but rather favored a mixture of different activities. Flexible training modules were considered helpful to increase exercise program adherence.
MBC patients were generally interested in supervised exercise programs. They preferred group exercise that facilitates social interaction, but also expressed a need for individualized exercise programs. This suggests the relevance to develop flexible exercise programs that are adjusted to the individual's needs, abilities, and preferences.
监督锻炼是一种有潜力的支持性护理干预措施，适用于转移性乳腺癌（MBC）患者，但关于患者观点的研究有限。本聚焦小组研究的目的是深入了解 MBC 患者对监督锻炼计划的感知障碍、促进因素和偏好。
在四个欧洲国家（德国、波兰、西班牙、瑞典）进行了 11 次在线聚焦小组讨论，共有 44 名 MBC 患者参加。半结构化讨论的主要主题包括对参加监督锻炼计划的态度、感知的促进因素、体验到的障碍和锻炼偏好。访谈逐字记录、翻译成英文，并根据初步编码框架进行编码，补充会议期间出现的主题。随后检查这些代码之间的相互关系，并重新组织成总体集群。
参与者对运动持积极态度，但身体受限和不安全感阻碍了他们的参与。他们强烈希望根据自己的需求和由运动专业人员监督来进行锻炼。参与者还强调了小组训练的社交性质是一个重要的促进因素。他们对运动类型没有明确的偏好，而是倾向于混合不同的活动。灵活的培训模块被认为有助于提高锻炼计划的依从性。
MBC 患者通常对监督锻炼计划感兴趣。他们更喜欢促进社交互动的小组运动，但也表达了对个性化锻炼计划的需求。这表明开发灵活的锻炼计划以适应个人的需求、能力和偏好具有相关性。
