Keep on moving: Promoting physical activity during hospital stay and enhance recovery - focused on patients with cancer

Abstract

Patients who underwent cancer treatment like surgery or chemotherapy are frequently admitted to the hospital. However, within the hospital sedentary behavior is deeply rooted in the hospital culture. In order te prevent functional decline during admission and to enhance recovery of physical functioning afterwards, it is necessary that patients remain as physical active as possible during and around their hospital stay. Within this thesis the effect of interventions promoting physical activity during hospital stay was investigated and the role of physical activity and recovery of physical functioning after major oncological surgery was described. Results showed that inpatients’ physical activity is a modifiable factor, however changing the immobility culture is challenging. Standard use of activity tracker in daily hospital care could facilitate patients’ self-management, creates continuous awareness regarding physical activity and could help to select the patients at risk for functional decline or complications. Next to the period during hospital stay, it is important to optimize recovery in the perioperative period. Especially since this thesis shows that more than half of the patient who underwent major oncological surgery is not recovered in physical functioning within 3 months. Integration of the use of activity trackers and mobile applications within the entire patient journey might help to reach many patients with relatively low costs. However, it seems important to select the patients at risk for unwanted outcomes like complications or delayed recovery to deliver more extensive care to the patients who benefit most.