Bridging the gap: incorporating exercise evidence into clinical practice in breast cancer care

Smith-Turchyn J, Richardson J, Tozer R, Margaret McNeely, Thabane L. Support Care Cancer. 2019 Jun 05.

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Bridging the gap: incorporating exercise evidence into clinical practice in breast cancer care.

Smith-Turchyn J, Richardson J, Tozer R, Margaret McNeely, Thabane L. Support Care Cancer. 2019 Jun 05.

PURPOSE: To determine the feasibility (recruitment, retention, and adherence rates) of implementing a multi-dimensional knowledge translation (KT) intervention designed for women with breast cancer, and to explore preliminary estimates of effects of the implementation strategy on exercise level, exercise knowledge and behavior, health-related quality of life, and overall health status among breast cancer survivors.

METHODS: Design: Implementation Trial.

PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling women, over 18 years of age, currently undergoing chemotherapy for stage 1-3 BRCA. Randomization and Blinding: A blinded researcher randomized participants on a record-by-record basis to the intervention or control group. A researcher blinded to the group allocation of the participants conducted the statistical analysis. Intervention Group: Eight sessions of moderate intensity aerobic exercise along with eight self-management modules were delivered during chemotherapy within the cancer institution.

CONTROL GROUP: Usual care.

PRIMARY OUTCOME: Feasibility of implementation strategy measured through recruitment, retention, and adherence rates.

RESULTS: Twenty-nine women were screened for this study. Twenty-seven met inclusion criteria and twenty-six participants were enrolled in the study. The implementation strategy was determined to be feasible and had a recruitment rate of 96%, retention rate of 100%, and adherence rate of 89%. The intervention group had significantly higher exercise levels (mean difference = 25.38, 95%CI = (9.35, 41.42)) post-intervention compared with the control group. No adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of this KT intervention is feasible and demonstrates preliminary effects for secondary outcomes for women with breast cancer during chemotherapy. Findings support the implementation of this intervention in a multi-center trial.

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