A Cancer Exercise Toolkit Developed Using Co-Design: Mixed Methods Study

Amy M Dennett; Clarice Y Tang; April Chiu; Christian Osadnik; Catherine L Granger; Nicholas F Taylor; Kristin L Campbell; Christian Barton

doi:10.2196/34903

A Cancer Exercise Toolkit Developed Using Co-Design: Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Cancer. 2022 Apr 21;8(2):e34903. doi: 10.2196/34903.

Authors

Amy M Dennett^{1

2}, Clarice Y Tang³, April Chiu¹, Christian Osadnik⁴, Catherine L Granger^{5

6}, Nicholas F Taylor^{1

2}, Kristin L Campbell⁷, Christian Barton¹

Affiliations

¹ La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia.
² Allied Health Clinical Research Office, Eastern Health, Box Hill, Australia.
³ School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, Australia.
⁴ Department of Physiotherapy, School of Primary and Allied Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Australia.
⁵ Department of Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
⁶ Department of Physiotherapy, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Australia.
⁷ Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

PMID: 35451966
PMCID: PMC9073617
DOI: 10.2196/34903

Abstract

Background: Access to exercise therapy for cancer survivors is poor. Professional development to support exercise professionals in delivering these interventions is needed. Few online resources exist for exercise professionals to address this issue.

Objective: To develop and evaluate a freely available online toolkit to support exercise professionals working with cancer survivors.

Methods: A 2-phase, experience-based co-design approach was used to develop and evaluate the online toolkit. The two phases were as follows: 1) needs identification and co-design of resources and platform and 2) pilot evaluation. Four co-design workshops were conducted, transcribed, and thematically analyzed to identify key elements for the toolkit. For the pilot evaluation, a customized survey (the Determinants of Implementation Behavior Questionnaire) was distributed to exercise professionals at baseline and 3 months after launch of the online toolkit to determine its usability, utility, and effectiveness in improving their knowledge, confidence, and behavior. Results were reported as the median and interquartile range and changes were calculated using non-parametric tests. Website analytics described site usage after the initial evaluation.

Results: Twenty-five exercise professionals participated in co-designing 8 key elements of the online Cancer Exercise Toolkit: the homepage and pages for getting started, screening and safety, assessment, exercise prescription, education, locations, and resources. For the pilot evaluation, 277/320 respondents (87% of whom were physiotherapists) from 26 countries completed the survey at baseline, with 58 exercise professionals completing follow-up surveys at 3 months. Exercise professionals' knowledge, skills, and confidence in delivering exercise therapy to cancer survivors increased 3 months after baseline (items 1, 6, and 8: median score 5, IQR 3 to 6) to follow-up (items 1 and 6: median score 6, IQR 5 to 6; item 8: median score 5, IQR 5 to 7; P<.001) on a 1 to 7 Likert scale. Most participants (35/44, 80%) agreed or strongly agreed they would recommend the toolkit to colleagues. In the 6 months following the pilot evaluation, the toolkit received an average of 866 views per month.

Conclusions: The co-designed online Cancer Exercise Toolkit was a useful resource for exercise professionals that may increase their knowledge, skills, and confidence in providing exercise therapy to cancer survivors.

Keywords: cancer; cancer survivor; cancer survivorship; digital health; exercise; online health; online learning; online toolkit; physiotherapy; professional development; website.

©Amy M Dennett, Clarice Y Tang, April Chiu, Christian Osadnik, Catherine L Granger, Nicholas F Taylor, Kristin L Campbell, Christian Barton. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (https://cancer.jmir.org), 21.04.2022.