Poster Presentation Cancer Survivorship Conference 2023

Can social relationships form between participants of an online group exercise program for people with cancer? (#117)

Elise M. Gane 1 2 3 , Jennifer Tan 2 , Elizabeth C. Ward 1 3 , Raymond J. Chan 4 5 , Mark B. Pinkham 6 7 , Nicolas H. Hart 4 5 , Jocelyn Williames 2 , Elizabeth Pinkham 2 5
  1. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. Physiotherapy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  3. Centre for Functioning and Health Research, Metro South Health, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  4. Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Science, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  5. Cancer Palliative Care Outcomes Centre , Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  6. Radiation Oncology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  7. School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Aims: Explore perceptions of people with cancer who participated in a telehealth supervised group exercise (tele-exercise) program regarding their ability to connect and socialise with their fellow participants.

Methods: Implementation trial conducted at a tertiary Brisbane hospital. Cancer patients with medical clearance and access to home internet participated in a physiotherapy-led tele-exercise program, comprising twice-weekly sessions for 12 weeks and featuring aerobic, resistance and balance exercises. Qualitative interviews (analysed using thematic and content analyses) were conducted <2wks post-program.

Results: Twenty-four commenced the program, most of whom were female (92%), diagnosed with breast cancer (75%), mean age 52 (standard deviation 10) years. Twenty-one completed the program (88%) and were interviewed. Participants expressed one of three opinions about socialising with their peers during tele-exercise: (1) participants did get to know each other “a little bit” and developed “a little bond”, facilitated by small class sizes; (2) participants felt the online classes were not conducive to building relationships and very different to what an in-person program could offer; and (3) participants were not seeking social relationships from the program and were happy to trade this for the other benefits of tele-exercise. Separately, participants expressed the importance of being able to see each other via telehealth – being motivated by watching how other people completed exercises they couldn’t, relating to other people being challenged by exercise, and finding comfort in seeing cancer survivors of all shapes and sizes in the program. Scheduling in time before/after the classes for group conversation was suggested to facilitate social relationships for those who want to engage.

Conclusion: Participants had mixed experiences of connecting with their fellow participants in the tele-exercise program – some felt connected, some did not, and some did not want the connection. Future programs could schedule in (optional) time for developing social relationships between participants.