An mHealth Intervention Strategy for Physical Activity Coaching in Cancer Survivors

Many cancer survivors experience severe fatigue long after they have finished curative treatment. The aim of this study was to develop an intervention strategy that aims to decrease cancer-related fatigue by integrating a physical activity coaching system in primary care physiotherapy. This development started from the current state of the art. Therefore, firstly, an overview is given about physical activity goals for cancer-related fatigue, relevant cognitive behavioral change factors in this context, and recommendations for using mobile Health applications. Subsequently, interviews with five experienced health professionals were held to define recommendations for the first draft intervention strategy. Via an iterative process with two physiotherapists and a patient, the final intervention strategy was developed. The final result is a 9-week intervention strategy that could benefit a large variety of patients with chronic cancer-related fatigue, that has the potential to be integrated successfully in current primary health care, and is currently evaluated in a large randomized controlled trial.

[1]  S. Vadaparampil,et al.  Systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological and activity-based interventions for cancer-related fatigue. , 2007, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[2]  Blair T. Johnson,et al.  Efficacy of Exercise Interventions in Modulating Cancer-Related Fatigue among Adult Cancer Survivors: A Meta-Analysis , 2010, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

[3]  J. Ciccolo,et al.  Physical activity motivation and cancer survivorship. , 2011, Recent results in cancer research. Fortschritte der Krebsforschung. Progres dans les recherches sur le cancer.

[4]  Hermie Hermens,et al.  Optimal Sensor Placement for Measuring Physical Activity with a 3D Accelerometer , 2014, Sensors.

[5]  Valerie M. Jones,et al.  Development and evaluation of a sensor-based system for remote monitoring and treatment of chronic diseases - the continuous care & coaching platform , 2012 .

[6]  James A. Landay,et al.  Design requirements for technologies that encourage physical activity , 2006, CHI.

[7]  E. Eakin,et al.  Telephone, print, and Web-based interventions for physical activity, diet, and weight control among cancer survivors: a systematic review , 2015, Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

[8]  Lucy T. Nowell,et al.  ThemeRiver: visualizing theme changes over time , 2000, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization 2000. INFOVIS 2000. Proceedings.

[9]  D. Lawlor,et al.  Exercise interventions for cancer patients: systematic review of controlled trials , 2004, Cancer Causes & Control.

[10]  Shawn N. Fraser,et al.  Examining Implementation Intentions in an Exercise Intervention: The Effects on Adherence and Self-Efficacy in a Naturalistic Setting , 2009 .

[11]  Rieks op den Akker,et al.  Tailored motivational message generation: A model and practical framework for real-time physical activity coaching , 2015, J. Biomed. Informatics.

[12]  G. Bleijenberg,et al.  The course of severe fatigue in disease‐free breast cancer patients: a longitudinal study , 2007, Psycho-oncology.

[13]  J. Brug,et al.  Mediators of physical exercise for improvement in cancer survivors' quality of life , 2014, Psycho-oncology.

[14]  David W. McDonald,et al.  Activity sensing in the wild: a field trial of ubifit garden , 2008, CHI.

[15]  Silvia Lindtner,et al.  Fish'n'Steps: Encouraging Physical Activity with an Interactive Computer Game , 2006, UbiComp.

[16]  H. Hermens,et al.  A scenario guideline for designing new teletreatments: a multidisciplinary approach , 2010, Journal of telemedicine and telecare.

[17]  F. Cramp,et al.  Exercise for the management of cancer-related fatigue in adults. , 2008, The Cochrane database of systematic reviews.

[18]  R. Newton,et al.  Review of exercise intervention studies in cancer patients. , 2005, Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

[19]  Monique Tabak,et al.  Motivational cues as real-time feedback for changing daily activity behavior of patients with COPD. , 2014, Patient education and counseling.

[20]  F. Baumann,et al.  Relationship between cancer-related fatigue and physical activity in inpatient cancer rehabilitation. , 2013, Anticancer research.

[21]  G. Bleijenberg,et al.  Development of fatigue in cancer survivors: a prospective follow-up study from diagnosis into the year after treatment. , 2013, Journal of pain and symptom management.

[22]  L. Nail,et al.  A randomized clinical trial of energy conservation for patients with cancer‐related fatigue , 2004, Cancer.

[23]  Paul A Estabrooks,et al.  Assessing the Internal and External Validity of Mobile Health Physical Activity Promotion Interventions: A Systematic Literature Review Using the RE-AIM Framework , 2013, Journal of medical Internet research.

[24]  W. V. van Harten,et al.  A Systematic Review of Web-Based Interventions for Patient Empowerment and Physical Activity in Chronic Diseases: Relevance for Cancer Survivors , 2013, Journal of medical Internet research.

[25]  B. J. Fogg,et al.  A behavior model for persuasive design , 2009, Persuasive '09.

[26]  J. D. Janssen,et al.  Assessment of energy expenditure for physical activity using a triaxial accelerometer. , 1994, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[27]  W. Velicer,et al.  The Transtheoretical Model of Health Behavior Change , 1997, American journal of health promotion : AJHP.

[28]  M. Perugini,et al.  Can implementation intentions and text messages promote brisk walking? A randomized trial. , 2010, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[29]  S. Kelders,et al.  Persuasive System Design Does Matter: A Systematic Review of Adherence to Web-Based Interventions , 2012, Journal of medical Internet research.

[30]  Sean P Mullen,et al.  Increasing Physical Activity With Mobile Devices: A Meta-Analysis , 2012, Journal of medical Internet research.

[31]  L. Mâsse,et al.  Controlled Physical Activity Trials in Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis , 2005, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

[32]  G. Bleijenberg,et al.  Fatigue in disease-free cancer patients compared with fatigue in patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome , 2001, Supportive Care in Cancer.

[33]  G. Montgomery,et al.  Cancer-related fatigue: a systematic and meta-analytic review of non-pharmacological therapies for cancer patients. , 2008, Psychological bulletin.

[34]  G. Prue,et al.  Cancer-related fatigue: A critical appraisal. , 2006, European journal of cancer.