Background: Exercise is a powerful intervention shown to improve a myriad of physiological and psychosocial outcomes for people living with and beyond cancer. Given the increasing demand for exercise services, there is impetus to investigate alternative models of service delivery to maximise reach. Student-led exercise clinics may provide an opportunity to alleviate extended waitlist times for public exercise services, while simultaneously achieving clinical practicum requirements.
Aim: This abstract provides an overview of a student-led exercise oncology program hosted between Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre.
Methods: The Cancer Exercise and Physical Activity (CEPA) service is a 12-week, group-based exercise program hosted at Flinders University. Patients are referred into the service following discharge from the Exercise Fatigue program at Flinders Medical Centre or can self-refer into the program. The service provides group-based exercise services two times per week under the guidance of student exercise physiologists undertaking a clinical placement block and are supervised by Accredited Exercise Physiologists with experience in exercise oncology. All patients are individually-prescribed a combination of aerobic and resistance training and provided a home program to complete. Outcomes are modified based on patient conditioning, are assessed at baseline, 6-, and 12-weeks, and include validated measurements of key physical qualities (cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, balance, change of direction speed, and mobility) and patient-reported outcomes (health-related quality of life, fatigue, and motivation for exercise). Key implementation characteristics from patients and students are captured at the end of the 12-week program and placement block, respectively. Harms are evaluated using the Exercise Harms Reporting Method.
Progress: The CEPA service launched in July 2023 and is currently enrolling patients into the service.