Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Exercise for Recently Treated Adults With Acute Leukemia.
Ashley Leak Bryant, AnnMarie L Walton, Mackenzi Pergolotti and 4 others
PMID 28632248WHAT IT FOUND
Six adults newly treated for acute leukemia said inpatient exercise helped with aches, fatigue and anxiety, while treatment conflicts and symptoms made sessions hard.
Structure, trainers and motivation helped them plan walking or strength work after discharge.
Key findings
01Participants reported benefits including decreased aches and pains, lower fatigue, decreased anxiety, and motivation from trainers.
02Barriers included symptoms, treatment conflicts, and fixed session timing that sometimes needed rescheduling.
03Participants suggested having one consistent trainer and using wearable devices or apps after discharge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only six patients were interviewed, all from the exercise intervention arm, so these are perceptions rather than measured effects. Five were White non-Hispanic males, one was African American female, and all had AML, limiting generalizability. Interviews were conducted once before discharge, with no follow-up to determine post-discharge activity levels. The parent trial had a low number of intervention participants because of cardiopulmonary exercise testing exclusions, and 39% of potentially eligible participants were excluded for comorbidities. Initial coding agreement was 29%, although disagreements were resolved by negotiation.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types indicate research support from the NIH, extramural. The article text does not report authors' conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these patient reports as proof that exercise during induction chemotherapy improves recovery or that the program is safe for all patients. The study interviewed six patients from the exercise intervention arm and did not analyse measured clinical outcomes.