New thesis on supervised exercise delivered online for cancer patients
Hi Melissa Kotte, doctoral student at the Division of Nursing. On October 24, you will defend your thesis ”Reaching cancer survivors where they are : effects and experiences of live-remote exercise”. What is the main focus of the thesis?
”My thesis investigates how supervised exercise delivered online can support people treated for breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer. Our aim was to evaluate both the health effects and participants’ experiences of this approach”, says Melissa Kotte, doctoral student at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society.
Which are the most important results?
We found that live-remote exercise improved fitness, strength, and physical functioning. The greatest gains were seen in those with poorer baseline health, as well as in women and participants receiving antihormone therapy, including improvements in health-related quality of life and fatigue. It also helped overcome common barriers to exercise such as travel and time.
How can this new knowledge contribute to the improvement of people’s health?
Our findings show that live-remote exercise is a viable way to deliver supervised training, creating more options to make exercise accessible so that more cancer survivors can benefit.
What’s in the future for you? Will you continue to conduct research?
I am passionate about making exercise accessible for people with cancer and therefore see myself working across research, clinical practice, and strategic efforts to make exercise a standard part of cancer care in Sweden.