Clinical trial · Interventional
Digitizing Cancer Rehabilitation During and After Systemic Treatment: Feasibility Testing Implementation in South Baltic Countries
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Background With increasing cancer incidence and advanced cancer treatment, the growing population of cancer survivors increases the demand on health resources worldwide. Over the last 20 years, physical rehabilitation has reached recognition as an essential component of cancer care due its effect on physical function, side effects of treatment, and quality of life. However, highly specialized health care can result in longer distances to rehabilitation facilities. Also, a heavy appointment schedule for patients in treatment tends to complicate participation in rehabilitation. Telehealth has shown promise in increasing accessibility to services, also rehabilitation. However, barriers to participating in digitally delivered rehabilitation might exist, including lower e-health literacy and internet access in rural areas. The aim of this study is therefore, to examine the feasibility of implementing digitally supported rehabilitaiton in cancer care during and after treatment. Methodology In a multinational implementation study, the feasibility of implementation of digital rehabilitation will be tested in five South Baltic Countries (DK, SWE, GER, PL, LTU). Each site will host one feasibility trial for patients during cancer treatment and one for patients after, with n=30 patients in each fesibility trial (total n=300). The intervention will be needs-based, follow international guidelines, last from 8-16 weeks, and be delivered by trained Health Care Professionals (HCP's), either fully or partially digital. Mixed methods will be used to assess outcomes of reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance (RE-AIM). Through the coordinated feasibility trials across five South Baltic countries, the investigators expect to learn about important factors in implementation of digitally delivered rehabilitation in different settings, cultures, and health systems. Finally, the investigators will bring recommendations for improving reach, implementation, and sustainability of digitally delivered rehabilitation across different settings.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Cancer Rehabilitation | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| remote physical rehabilitation | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Digital physical rehabilitation
- description
- Feasibility testing the implementation of digitally delivered physical rehabilitation a) during systemic anticancer treatment and b) after completion of systemic anticancer treatment
- interventionNames
- Other: remote physical rehabilitation
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Patient's and therapist perspectives on determinants
- timeFrame
- Patients: between 4 and 12 weeks of intervention participation. Therapists: between 5 patient treatments completed and end of study (on average 1 year).
- description
- 2 Qualitative analyses using online Group Concept Mapping will be performed. One with 5-10 patients in their final phase of the rehabilitation program (minimum 1 participant each country), and one with 5-10 therapists/health professionals (minimum one each country). One -two promps phrased to create responses from informants about what the determinants are for engaging in digital e-rehabilitation, will be specified by the project group in collaboration. The process will further follow 5 pre-described steps of online activities, utilizing the software "GroupwisdomTM", The steps are as follows: Step 1) Brainstorming the prompt(s) Steps 2 and 3) Sorting, labelling and rating Step 4) Generating a cluster rating map Step 5) Validation of the cluster rating map We will perform the process separately for patients and therapists.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosed with cancer (IDC: C00\* - C97\*) * Feasibility study 1 (early rehab): Participants should receive any systemic chemo/immunotherapy preferably (but not necessarily) with a duration of 8 weeks or more. Recruitment should be at earliest convenience preferably (but not necessarily) within 4 weeks of treatment initiation. * Feasibility study 2 (rehab@home): Participants should preferably have completed chemotherapy/immunotherapy no more than 6 months ago but may be receiving long-standing maintenance and life-prolonging chemo-/immunotherapy. Exclusion Criteria: \- Cognitively unable to give consent to, or participate in, a digital rehabilitation programme as judged by project team staff.
References
Publications (17)
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- BACKGROUNDTrochim WM, McLinden D. Introduction to a special issue on concept mapping. Eval Program Plann. 2017 Feb;60:166-175. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2016.10.006. Epub 2016 Oct 11. PMID 27780609
- BACKGROUNDPowell BJ, Waltz TJ, Chinman MJ, Damschroder LJ, Smith JL, Matthieu MM, Proctor EK, Kirchner JE. A refined compilation of implementation strategies: results from the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) project. Implement Sci. 2015 Feb 12;10:21. doi: 10.1186/s13012-015-0209-1. PMID 25889199
- BACKGROUNDRyan M, Lam N, Wright K, Siderov J. Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Position Statement: 2022 update to the safe handling of monoclonal antibodies in healthcare settings. Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2023 Dec;19(6):723-730. doi: 10.1111/ajco.13943. Epub 2023 Mar 10. PMID 36899469
- BACKGROUNDSweegers MG, Altenburg TM, Chinapaw MJ, Kalter J, Verdonck-de Leeuw IM, Courneya KS, Newton RU, Aaronson NK, Jacobsen PB, Brug J, Buffart LM. Which exercise prescriptions improve quality of life and physical function in patients with cancer during and following treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Apr;52(8):505-513. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-097891. Epub 2017 Sep 27.