A Holistic Model of Rehabilitation to improve QoL in Sarcoma.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Can a holistic model of rehabilitation improve quality of life after treatment for lower extremity sarcoma? A pilot and feasibility study.
IRAS ID
223665
Contact name
Sherron Furtado
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle Joint Research Office; The Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The treatment of extremity bone or soft tissue tumours routinely involves the surgical removal of large volumes of muscle and/or bone, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Therefore many patients suffer disability and difficulties with everyday tasks. This has a major impact on quality of life.
There is therefore a need for good, evidence based, comprehensive approaches to rehabilitation which address the complex needs of patients. We have developed an approach which uses new ways of assessing disability in hospital and at home to develop a personalised rehabilitation plan for sarcoma patients.
This pilot study will test if this approach works in a small number of patients (20) who need rehabilitation either immediately after treatment or more than 6 months later. To do this we will perform an assessment of physical function in the clinic using standard questionnaires, and performance of activities wearing body worn activity monitors (BWM). These monitors will be worn during a week of normal activity at home.
This information will be brought together using a holistic approach adopted from other clinical conditions to develop a personalised rehabilitation plan incorporating the priorities of patients and their families. We will reassess the patient afterwards and measure the impact on quality of life.
By testing this approach we hope to learn if it is feasible and acceptable to patients and rehabilitation professionals and will refine the technique. If successful, we will take this forward by seeking further funding applications for a larger multi-centre study supported by the data from this pilot project.
REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NE/0259
Date of REC Opinion
21 Aug 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion