Attitudes, Practices, and Perspectives of Oncology Nurses in Promoting Exercise Is Medicine Among Patients With Cancer in China: A Mixed-Methods Study.
Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine
The exercise is medicine (EIM) initiative, promoted as routine care for cancer populations, is inadequately integrated into oncology practice. While barriers to and facilitators of physical activity (PA) promotion are well documented, oncology nurses' perspectives on EIM remain underexplored. This mixed-methods study examined oncology nurses' current PA promotion practice and perspectives on implementing the EIM initiative in China. A total of 155 oncology nurses across Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China participated in an online survey (including a 3-min EIM introductory video) assessing current PA promotion practices, personal PA habits, and attitudes toward PA and EIM, among which 14 were subsequently interviewed. The results revealed infrequent PA discussions with patients and relatively low confidence in PA promotion. After watching an EIM introductory video, participants' attitudes toward PA promotion improved slightly, with most expressing average interest and preparedness to integrate EIM in practice. Qualitative analysis revealed 5 key themes influencing EIM implementation: confidence in PA promotion, perceived priority of promoting PA in practice, perceived appropriateness of promoting PA for patients, organizational infrastructure (trainings, guidelines, collaborations, resources), and societal support. Oncology EIM implementation requires systematic organizational support, necessitating a multifaceted approach encompassing competency development, standardized procedu
Abstract
The exercise is medicine (EIM) initiative, promoted as routine care for cancer populations, is inadequately integrated into oncology practice. While barriers to and facilitators of physical activity (PA) promotion are well documented, oncology nurses' perspectives on EIM remain underexplored. This mixed-methods study examined oncology nurses' current PA promotion practice and perspectives on implementing the EIM initiative in China. A total of 155 oncology nurses across Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China participated in an online survey (including a 3-min EIM introductory video) assessing current PA promotion practices, personal PA habits, and attitudes toward PA and EIM, among which 14 were subsequently interviewed. The results revealed infrequent PA discussions with patients and relatively low confidence in PA promotion. After watching an EIM introductory video, participants' attitudes toward PA promotion improved slightly, with most expressing average interest and preparedness to integrate EIM in practice. Qualitative analysis revealed 5 key themes influencing EIM implementation: confidence in PA promotion, perceived priority of promoting PA in practice, perceived appropriateness of promoting PA for patients, organizational infrastructure (trainings, guidelines, collaborations, resources), and societal support. Oncology EIM implementation requires systematic organizational support, necessitating a multifaceted approach encompassing competency development, standardized procedural guidelines, cross-sector collaborations, and strategic resource allocation. Integrating EIM in oncology care requires enhanced organizational support, including training, guidelines, collaboration and resources. Implementation assessment and research are essential to ensure successful and sustainable integration and to evaluate applicability, effectiveness, and sustainability of EIM in real-world oncology settings.