Lessons learned from process evaluation of an exercise intervention among cancer patients

In a paper just published in European Journal of Cancer Care -with Saskia Persoon as first author, and as part of the Alpe D'HuZes Cancer Rehabilitation research program (A-CaRe)-, we describe the process evaluation of an 18-week supervised exercise programme in 50 patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. The intervention included 30 exercise sessions with six resistance exercises and interval training. We evaluated the context, dose delivered and received, and patients' and physiotherapists' satisfaction with the intervention. Ninety-two per cent of the patients trained within 15 km of their home address, with an average session attendance of 86%. Most patients trained at the prescribed intensity for four of the six resistance exercises, but the dose delivered and received of the two remaining resistance exercises and interval training could not be determined. Both patients and physiotherapists highly appreciated the program (score of 8.3 and 7.9 out of 10 respectively).