Speaker
Description
Purpose The recent surge in live-remote exercise programs may facilitate greater access to exercise interventions for cancer survivors. However, concerns have been raised about altered or weakened interpersonal dynamics among participants and between participants and exercise professionals. This could affect perceived benefits and subsequent opportunity for survivors to play an active role in their recovery.
Methods We conducted a concept mapping study to assess which aspects of social interaction cancer survivors consider important to gain the most benefit from these programs. This mixed methods study included participants from six countries (Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal), who had completed a 12-week live-remote exercise program targeting the negative side effects of their cancer treatment. Via an online concept mapping platform (GroupWisdom), participants: (1) generated statements in response to two focus prompts (related to peer-interaction and interaction with the trainer, respectively); and/or (2) sorted these statements into groups of related concepts and/or (3) rated them according to perceived importance. The exercise professionals involved simultaneously rated the statements according to perceived feasibility. We aggregated the data using multidimensional scaling, and performed cluster analysis. A “Go-Zone map” will combine feasibility and importance ratings, providing insights into which aspects of live-remote exercise interventions cancer survivors and exercise professionals believe should- and can be prioritized to optimize social interaction.
Results (in progress) Participants generated 101 unique statements reflecting their preferences for interacting with peers and trainers, sorted optimally into five and seven clusters respectively. As a whole, all clusters were considered more feasible than important. The Go-Zone maps for both topics indicate a substantial set of statements are considered both important and feasible. Results will be finalized by May 2026.
Conclusions This study provides actionable insights on preferences of cancer survivors and involved exercise professionals for optimizing interpersonal dynamics during live-remote exercise.
Keywords
Digital rehabilitation, exercise oncology, patient preferences, social dynamics
| Abstract submitters declaration | yes |
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| Conflict of Interest & Ethical Approval | yes |
