None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Hospitalised cancer survivors are very physically inactive, placing them at risk of weakness, medical complications and long hospital stays. This study is investigating if providing people with brief physical activity advice and a fitness tracker (Fitbit) to facilitate goal setting and provide feedback improves cancer survivor’s physical activity, reduces hospital stay and prevents complications. Who is it for? Participants will be patients with cancer who are admitted to the oncology/haematology ward at Box Hill Hospital who are medically stable to exercise. Study details Participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups: 1) Physical activity advice with Fitbit in addition to usual inpatient care; or 2) usual inpatient care. At hospital discharge, and 30 days after, data relating to physical activity levels, physical function, confidence and hospital readmissions will be collected. It is hoped this study will determine the effectiveness of providing additional behavioural support including Fitbits on a hospital cancer ward.
Interventions
WHAT: MATERIALS
• Fitbit Inspire device worn for duration of hospital admission
• Physical activity diary (provided day 1) + standardised physical handout (readily available from Exercise is Medicine on how to sit less and move more) (provided on discharge)
• Standard exercise and cancer booklet (provided day 1 from Cancer Council)
WHAT PROCEDURES
PROVIDER
• Health professional trained to provide intervention in addition to usual ward staff as indicated: nursing, medical, allied health
HOW
WHAT: MATERIALS • Fitbit Inspire device worn for duration of hospital admission • Physical activity diary (provided day 1) + standardised physical handout (readily available from Exercise is Medicine on how to sit less and move more) (provided on discharge) • Standard exercise and cancer booklet (provided day 1 from Cancer Council) WHAT PROCEDURES PROVIDER • Health professional trained to provide intervention in addition to usual ward staff as indicated: nursing, medical, allied health HOW • Individual face-to-face counselling including feedback of step counts and goal setting/review of goals. During session one, masking of the Fitbit display will be removed, and the health professional will discuss the benefits of physical activity and formulate an initial daily step goal in collaboration with the patient, taking into consideration their baseline assessment results, day 1 Fitbit data and current medical management. The daily step goal will be displayed in the patient’s room on their bedside whiteboard to reinforce the step goal. Patients will be able to actively monitor their step count throughout admission on the Fitbit display of the watch. All ward staff will be trained to use the Fitbit step count data and encourage patients to meet their physical activity goals at every encounter. During session two, the health professional will review the patients step counts from the first half of their admission through the Fitbit dashboard application and patient’s diary and revise the step goal accordingly to ensure it is achievable. They will also discuss with the patient how they plan to increase their physical activity when they are discharged home WHERE • Acute hospital ward WHEN/HOW MUCH 2 behavioural counselling sessions (Day 1 and mid admission (approx D3)) during hospital admission plus usual care physiotherapy as indicated for safety, gait aid progression, discharge planning. Usual care physiotherapy will be provided during and after hospital admission as per hospital guidelines. Each session up to 15 minutes duration over a period of 7 days or until hospital discharge (whichever is earlier) TAILORING • Individualised physical activity goal setting using Fitbit and step diary. Patients will be encouraged to increase their step count by 10-30% per day (approximately 100 to 500 steps) based on their initial step count prior to randomisation. ADHERENCE Adherence to step goals and completion of step diaries will be recorded for participants in the intervention group. Data from step diaries will be compared with electronic data from the Fitbit device which will be uploaded to the Fitbit Dashboard desktop application. FIDELITY Record of number and duration of completed sessions, step logs as recorded by fitbit application and patient.
Sponsors
Eastern Health
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Participants will be eligible if they: • Admitted to the oncology/haematology ward at Box Hill Hospital Are aged 18 years and over. • Have a cancer diagnosis. • Are able to ambulate independently with our without an aid. • Are receiving inpatient care with expected admission of at least 3 days. • Have an Australian Karnofsky Performance Status score of 50 or greater • Are able to give written informed consent as recorded in the medical record or as assessed by their treating clinician or trial assessor.
Exclusion criteria
Participants will be excluded if: • They are non-ambulant or deemed unsafe to walk outside of their room independently. A physiotherapist will screen for absolute contra-indications to walking in the medical record: unstable angina/hypertension/heart failure, arrhythmia, acute embolus/infarct, acute systemic infection with haemodynamic instability, dissecting aneurysm, acute myocarditis or pericarditis. The physiotherapist will obtain physician clearance to exercise if patient’s bloods and vital signs fall outside acceptable values. If patients have a medical condition that contraindicates participation to walk as assessed by a physiotherapist or medical practitioner, they will be excluded. • They are expected to be admitted for <3 days (e.g. for the purposes of chemotherapy administration) • They usually live in residential care.
Outcome results
None listed