School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University and Allied Health Clinical Research Office, Eastern Health, Level 2, 5 Arnold St, Box Hill, VIC, Australia.
School of Psychology and Public Health, Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Support Care Cancer. 2024 Sep 5;32(10):636. doi: 10.1007/s00520-024-08803-w.
Specialised group-based exercise rehabilitation is beneficial for cancer survivors but access to these services is limited. Telerehabilitation provides an opportunity to expand reach, but we do not know about the experiences of those who participate in this way. This study explored participant experiences of an exercise-based telerehabilitation program for people with cancer.
A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was completed. Twenty-two cancer survivors were purposively sampled from the experimental group of a randomised controlled trial evaluating exercise-based cancer telerehabilitation delivered in groups using synchronous videoconferencing. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded independently by two reviewers and analysed inductively by thematic analysis.
'A feeling of connection' was the overarching theme. Participants perceived they connected with the health service, expert health professionals, and peers through participating in the telerehabilitation program. These connections provided a personalised rehabilitation experience and improved perceptions of physical and emotional well-being. Two subthemes suggested connection was facilitated by (1) the acceptability of telerehabilitation and (2) enhanced accountability to exercise. Participants felt disconnected when they were unable to participate in the program due to cancer treatment and side effects (e.g. fatigue), feeling unwell, and co-morbidities.
We identified that telerehabilitation facilitated connections that enhanced the reach of exercise to cancer survivors. Our findings support using telerehabilitation to deliver specialised group-based exercise programs alongside more traditional models of care to increase participation in exercise among people with cancer.
专门的小组式运动康复对癌症幸存者有益，但获得这些服务的机会有限。远程康复提供了扩大服务范围的机会，但我们并不了解参与这种方式的人的体验。本研究探讨了癌症患者参与基于运动的远程康复计划的体验。
采用半结构式访谈进行定性研究。从一项随机对照试验的实验组中，通过同步视频会议以小组形式提供基于运动的癌症远程康复，对 22 名癌症幸存者进行了有针对性的抽样。访谈进行了录音，并逐字转录。两名评审员独立对数据进行编码，并通过主题分析进行归纳分析。
“一种联系感”是总体主题。参与者认为他们通过参与远程康复计划与健康服务、专业健康专业人员和同龄人建立了联系。这些联系提供了个性化的康复体验，并改善了身体和情绪健康的认知。两个子主题表明，联系是通过（1）远程康复的可接受性和（2）增强对运动的责任感来实现的。当参与者因癌症治疗和副作用（如疲劳）、身体不适和合并症而无法参与计划时，他们会感到与康复计划脱节。
我们发现远程康复促进了联系，从而扩大了运动对癌症幸存者的覆盖面。我们的研究结果支持使用远程康复来提供专门的小组式运动计划，与更传统的护理模式相结合，以增加癌症患者参与运动的机会。
