title: An individual-based versus group-based exercise and counselling intervention for improving quality of life in breast cancer survivors. A feasibility and efficacy study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer and its treatments produce lingering side-effects that undermine the quality of life (QOL) of survivors. Exercise and psycho-therapies increase QOL among survivors, however, research is needed to identify intervention characteristics most associated with such improvements.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This research aimed to assess the feasibility of a 9 week individual or group based exercise and counselling program, and to examine if a group based intervention is as effective at improving the QOL of breast cancer survivors as an individual-based intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  A three group design was implemented to compare the efficacy of a 9 week individual (IEC n = 12) and group based exercise and counselling (GEC n = 14) intervention to a usual care (UsC n = 10) group on QOL of thirty-six breast cancer survivors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across all groups, 90% of participants completed the interventions, with no adverse effects documented. At the completion of the intervention, there was a significant difference between groups for change in global QOL across time (p < 0.023), with IEC improving significantly more (15.0 points) than the UsC group (1.8 points). The effect size was moderate (0.70). Although the GEC improved QOL by almost 10.0 points, this increase did not reach significance. Both increases were above the minimally important difference of 7-8 points.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These preliminary results suggest a combined exercise and psychological counseling program is both a feasible and acceptable intervention for breast cancer survivors. Whilst both the individual and group interventions improved QOL above the clinically important difference, only the individual based intervention was significant when compared to UsC.
authors: School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia. f.naumann@unsw.edu.au
authors: Fiona
authors: F
authors: Naumann
authors: Aime
authors: A
authors: Munro
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Martin
authors: Paula
authors: P
authors: Magrani
authors: Jena
authors: J
authors: Buchan
authors: Cathie
authors: C
authors: Smith
authors: Ben
authors: B
authors: Piggott
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Philpott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome