Exercise for Oncology Care Professionals

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The goal of this preference-based pilot study will be to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a 12-week exercise intervention on oncology care provider burnout, compassion fatigue, and well-being. Participants will be divided into one of three exercise groups. Group assignment will be based on participant preference. Group 1: Supervised circuit-based resistance exercise (2 days/week) Group 2: Supervised circuit-based resistance exercise (2 days/week) + moderate-to-high intensity home-based walking/light jogging program (3 days/week) Group 3: Self-paced home-based walking program (3 days/week)

Official Title
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The Cost of Caring: Examining the Role of Exercise in Mitigating Oncology Care Provider Burnout (C4C+)

Conditions
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Burnout, Caregiver, Compassion Fatigue

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Circuit-based Resistance Training
* Behavioral: Circuit-based Resistance Training + Home-based Walking
* Behavioral: Home-based Walking


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18 years of age or older Must be providing formal (paid) care to cancer patients in a clinical setting Actively practicing within the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Program Exclusion Criteria: Exceeding Canadian physical activity guidelines of 150-minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week Any health condition that would preclude safe participation in a new exercise program

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Circuit-based resistance exercise<br>12-week, supervised twice weekly circuit-based resistance training program. | Behavioral: Circuit-based Resistance Training<br>* Participants will engage in a 12-week, twice weekly circuit-based resistance training program. Each supervised session will last about 25 minutes and will consist of 5 resistance exercises. Each exercise will be completed for 1 minute for a total of 5 minutes followed by a 1-minute rest. The circuit will then repeated 3 additional times (total of 4 circuits). All resistance sessions will be supervised by a certified fitness professionals.<br>|
| Experimental: Circuit-based resistance exercise plus home-based walking<br>12-week, supervised twice weekly circuit-based resistance training program plus home-based (unsupervised) brisk walking/light jogging program 3 days/week. | Behavioral: Circuit-based Resistance Training + Home-based Walking<br>* Participants will engage in a 12-week, twice weekly circuit-based resistance training program. Each supervised session will last about 25 minutes and will consist of 5 resistance exercises. Each exercise will be completed for 1 minute for a total of 5 minutes followed by a 1-minute rest. The circuit will then repeated 3 additional times (total of 4 circuits). All resistance sessions will be supervised by a certified fitness professionals. Participants will also be asked to engage in 25 minutes of brisk power walking or light jogging at home (unsupervised) 3 days/week for 25 minutes on days when they have not engaged in resistance training.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Home-based walking<br>12-week self-paced walking at home (unsupervised) 3 days/week. | Behavioral: Home-based Walking<br>* Participants will be asked to engage in 25 minutes of self-paced walking at home (unsupervised) 3 days/week.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Feasibility - Recruitment | Participant accrual as defined as the number of eligible participants who consent to participate. | Through study completion (about 1 year) | 
| Feasibility - Participant Fidelity (Intervention Adherence) | Participant adherence to prescribed exercise intervention | Through study completion (about 1 year) | 
| Feasibility - Safety | Adverse and serious adverse events | Through study completion (about 1 year) | 
| Feasibility - Retention/Attrition | Percentage of participants who complete the 12-week intervention | Through study completion (about 1 year) | 
| Feasibility - Participant Experience | Exit interview is used to assess factors influencing participant selection of intervention type/setting, adherence to and satisfaction with the selected intervention. | Through study completion (about 1 year) | 
| Feasibility - Attendance | Attendance is calculated as the percentage of exercise sessions completed by the total number of available exercise sessions over the 12-week intervention. | Through study completion (about 1 year) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for Medical Personnel (MP) | The MBI-MP is used to assess burnout in medical professionals. The 22-item, 7-point Likert scale (0 = never to 6 = everyday) assesses burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion (9 items), personal accomplishment (8 items), and depersonalization (5-items). | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) | The 30-item ProQOL is used to assess compassion fatigue (10 items), compassion satisfaction (10 items), and burnout (10 items). Items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = very often). | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - Short Version (DASS21) | The 21-item DASS is used to assess symptoms associated with three negative emotional states: depression, anxiety, and stress. Each scale contains 7-items scored on a 4-point severity/frequency scale. | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Physical Activity Behavior - Daily step count | Participants asked to record their daily step counts using a wrist worn activity monitor. | Week 1 through Week 12 | 
| Physical Activity Behavior - Self-reported | Self-reported physical activity is assessed by the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. Higher scores indicate higher levels of physical activity. Participants reporting moderate-to-strenuous Leisure Score Index ≥ 24 are classified as active; those reporting moderate-to-strenuous Leisure Score Index ≤ 23 are classified as insufficiently active. | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Resting heart rate | Resting heart rate | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Resting Blood Pressure | Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Aerobic fitness | The six-minute walk test is used to assess aerobic capacity. | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Upper Body Strength | A hand-held dynamometer is used to assess upper body strength. | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Muscular Endurance | The 30-second sit-to-stand is used to assess lower body muscular endurance. | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 
| Body Mass Index | Height and weight is used to assess body mass index | Pre to post intervention (12-week change) | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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oncology health professionals, burnout, compassion fatigue, exercise, physical activity