iCAN- Co-design of physical activity resources
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Co-production of tailored digital resources to support the brief promotion of physical activity in routine breast cancer care
IRAS ID
338468
Contact name
Kajal Gokal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Loughborough University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Research confirms that physical activity during chemotherapy for breast cancer is safe and beneficial and is recommended by the World Health Organisation. Physical activity helps patients cope better during treatment, could improve treatment outcomes, can help to reduce the risk of cancer returning and ultimately improving chances of survival. However, physical activity support is not part of the cancer care pathway in the NHS and patients are not routinely told about the importance of physical activity for their recovery in the same way it is for other conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Our interviews with healthcare professionals (n=11) highlighted that they believe physical activity should be discussed with all patients during treatment, but they lacked the resources and knowledge to promote physical activity with confidence. When we spoke to patients who have experienced breast cancer (n=15) they said that they would welcome further support and requested this be provided by their medical team alongside access to remote, digital resources they could refer back to that would help them be more physically active in their homes. Both patients and healthcare professionals expressed concerns about logistics of attending structured exercise classes and increased risk of infections during cancer treatment and therefore in the interest of inclusivity requested home-based physical activity.
The project is made up of two linked studies. Guided by previous research, the first study will involve working with breast cancer patients to define the content and format of digital resources to support patients with breast cancer to be active during treatment when prompted by healthcare professionals in routine NHS consultations. We will work with healthcare professionals to develop the training module they requested to support their conversations promoting physical activity with patients.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/EE/0141
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jul 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion