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Examining the Priorities, Needs and Preferences of Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer in Designing a Personalised eHealth Exercise Intervention

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Abstract

Background

Few individuals with metastatic prostate cancer have access to prostate cancer-specific exercise support, despite demonstrated benefits. eHealth tools, such as websites, may be viable options for increasing access. To be effective and acceptable, future eHealth websites need to consider end-users’ perspectives, capacity and needs. We aim to provide insight into these factors by exploring daily priorities, activities and health literacy of individuals with metastatic prostate cancer and their perspectives towards exercise and exercise-based web-based eHealth interventions.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews explored participant’s experiences and understanding of their disease, exercise levels, advice received from health care providers, as well as acceptability of and suggested content for an eHealth tool. A thematic analysis was undertaken.

Results

Interviews were conducted with eighteen Australians (55–83 years; M = 71.5, SD = 8.9) living with metastatic prostate cancer. Needing to perform daily responsibilities was a key priority. Participants had limited understanding of the benefits of prostate cancer-specific exercise, and less than half discussed exercise with their health team. Fourteen men felt they could report metastases location, but only four could provide detailed information, which has clinical implications for exercise prescription. A potential web-based intervention was considered acceptable by seventeen men for reasons such as affordability, accessibility and convenience. User-friendly design and practitioner support were important.

Conclusions

Results identified key aspects useful for person-centred design of exercise programs. Participants were positive towards the proposed web-based tool and expressed the need for individualised, user-friendly and reliable information with support from a professional embedded. Lastly, not all participants could accurately report metastasis locations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants who contributed to this study and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s Pathfinders database and medical doctors who informed participants about this research project. The authors would also like to thank Harshani Jayasinghe and Lisa Jones for their contribution to the data collection and analysis.

Funding

This study was funded by the Australian New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) through a below the belt research grant. HE is funded by a Commonwealth Research Training Program scholarship and the Freemasons Centre for Men’s Health. CES was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council ECR Fellowship (ID 1090517) and is currently supported by a Victorian Cancer Agency Mid-Career Fellowship (MCRF19028). The funding bodies had no role in study design, analysis or creation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men’s Health, School of Medicine, University of Adelaide, PO Box 11060, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia

    Holly E. L. Evans, Gary Wittert & Camille E. Short

  2. Wolfson Palliative Care Research Centre, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

    Cynthia C. Forbes

  3. School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Appleton Institute, Physical Activity Research Group, Central Queensland University, Bruce Highway, North Rockhampton, Queensland, 4702, Australia

    Corneel Vandelanotte

  4. Exercise Medicine Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, 6027, Australia

    Daniel A. Galvão & Robert U. Newton

  5. School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Robert U. Newton

  6. Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, Sydney, New South Wales, 2007, Australia

    Suzanne Chambers

  7. College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia

    Ganessan Kichenadasse

  8. Department of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Corner of North Terrace & George Street, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia

    Nicholas Brook

  9. School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia

    Danielle Girard

  10. Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences and Melbourne School of Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Barry Building, Tin Alley, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Camille E. Short

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  1. Holly E. L. Evans
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Correspondence to Holly E. L. Evans.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Evans, H.E.L., Forbes, C.C., Vandelanotte, C. et al. Examining the Priorities, Needs and Preferences of Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer in Designing a Personalised eHealth Exercise Intervention. Int.J. Behav. Med. 28, 431–443 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-020-09932-2

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