Overview: Lauren will present an overview of a world-leading and only service of its kind in Australia providing medically supervised exercise medicine to cancer patients in conjunction with oncology specialized allied health services in the same location. This helps achieve evidence-based exercise doses for anti-cancer benefits in patients that would otherwise be unable to reach these doses safely1. We will present the barriers to implementation faced over our history which were overcome to deliver this novel approach and bridge the research-to-practice gap (e.g. funding models, stakeholder relationships, resistance from clinicians and lack of understanding of evidence base).
A facilitated expert panel discussion will then provide an overview of how cancer patients benefit from the respective service (common referrals/pitfalls, where patients get missed/dismissed, importance of integration with the entire team including continuity with their regular GP). Example cases will illustrate how a multidisciplinary allied health team is vital to best-practice cancer care.
Outcomes/Learning Objectives: Attendees (patients, allied health, nurses, and doctors) will gain an understanding of the benefits of exercise in cancer patients and when prescribed and medically supervised this achieves better compliance with target dose. Additionally, patients that would otherwise not be able to safely exercise without medical supervision can be facilitated to achieve evidence-based exercise dose. Attendees will learn of barriers in our health system and bureaucracy that stifles innovation and hinders putting evidence-based care into real-world practice. The take-away message for all attendees is working collaboratively to advocate for innovation and support new models of care that are delivering positive outcomes and backed by a rigorous evidence base.
Attendees will have an increased understanding of the benefits and indications for allied health input from diagnosis to survivorship. The importance of integration and avoiding silos of care and the benefit of supportive care early in treatment will be emphasized for preventing complications and improving outcomes/experience.