Acceptability and Feasibility of an Isometric Resistance ExerciseProgram for Abdominal Cancer Surgery: An Embedded QualitativeStudy

摘要

Although it is recognized in the early stages of cancer recovery that changes inlifestyle including increases in physical activity improves physical function,there are no clear findings whether low versus moderate intensity activity orhome or gym exercise offer optimal benefit. Isometric-resistance exercises canbe carried out with very little equipment and space and can be performed whilepatients are bed-bound in hospital or at home. This embedded qualitative study,based in an English hospital trust providing specialist cancer care, wasundertaken as a component of a feasibility trial to evaluate the acceptabilityand feasibility of an isometric-resistance exercise program and explore thesuitability of functional assessments by drawing from the experiences ofabdominal cancer patients following surgery. Telephone interviews wereundertaken with 7 participants in the intervention group, and 8 interviews withthe usual care group (n = 15). The gender composition consisted of 11 femalesand 4 males. Participants’ ages ranged from 27 to 84 (M = 60.07, SD = 15.40).Interviews were conducted between August 2017 and May 2018, with audio filesdigitally recorded and data coded using thematic framework analysis. Our resultsshow that blinding to intervention or usual care was a challenge, participantsfelt the intervention was safe and suitable aided by the assistance of aresearch nurse, yet, found the self-completion questionnaire tools hard tocomplete. Our study provides an insight of trial processes, participants’adherence and completion of exercise interventions, and informs the design andconduct of larger RCTs based on the experiences of abdominal cancer surgerypatients.