The exercise programme: helping cancer patients to build healthy habits
The researchers have developed a tailored exercise intervention, which patients will take part in shortly after they have completed their programme of cancer treatment.
The study will be conducted as a ‘basket trial’; a type of clinical trial that will test how well the same exercise intervention works in patients with different types of cancer. These will be run as three trials concurrently in the same study.
The exercise programme will be delivered remotely over 12 weeks by specialist trainers. Participants will learn about the exercise programme, and the trainers will help them with goal setting, helping to build an action plan, and support patients to overcome any barriers they may face.
The exercise intervention has been informed by behaviour change theories and techniques to help participants build healthy habits, so that they can then keep doing the exercise programme on their own without regular trainer contact.
Dr Forbes, who is lead investigator for the study, said “A lot of people have said they prefer distance-based activity and doing it in their own time. However, previous evidence has shown that supervised programmes have been more effective in changing any outcome, whether it's physical function or quality of life, than when a programme is unsupervised.
“So, we have developed the exercise intervention in CANFit to bridge the gap between having regular contact and ‘supervision’ with a trainer, but the flexibility to do their exercise sessions whenever they want.”
Championing the recruitment of cancer patients to join the study
Starting in 2023, the researchers will begin recruiting 660 cancer patients across Yorkshire to the study at the Queen’s Oncology Centre at Castle Hill Hospital, part of Hull University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Weston Park Cancer Centre, part of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The participants will be identified and recruited by ‘champions’ at each of these sites, including oncologists, research nurses, and cancer nursing specialists.
The study researchers have created a flyer for the champions to use when discussing the study with patients, and to hand over to the patient should they want to take part.
Dr Forbes said, “The cancer specialists we are working with are very supportive of the study. We know they’re incredibly busy, so we need to make recruitment quick and easy for them.
“We have created a quick guide flyer that will explain the study and how to get involved, that they can give to the patient. Then it's on us to follow them up. We’ve had conversations with our champions in the NHS about this approach. They are fully supportive of it – it should be quick and easy to fit into their clinical practice.”
The Hull Health Trials Unit will then securely collate all of the data of participants in the study. The Unit, based in Hull York Medical School at the University of Hull, is an integral part of the study, and is involved in the design of the study, the logistics around collecting and storing the data, through to the eventual statistical analysis and reporting. The Trials Unit have a Data Safe Haven, allowing sensitive health data to be securely stored.