Grant: Project Grant

Clinical practice guidelines recommend that people living with and beyond a breast cancer diagnosis participate in physical activity and structured exercise to help manage the side effects of cancer and its treatments and to improve general health. In a previous study, our research team showed a virtual supervised exercise program (called BE-FIT) for women receiving anti-hormonal therapy as part of treatment for early-stage breast cancer successfully improved their physical function and quality of life. After the study was complete, patients, healthcare providers, and administrators at BC Cancer voiced their support for the ongoing delivery of the program. InspireHealth is a community organization that provides supportive care services for people diagnosed with cancer in British Columbia. InspireHealth is planning to offer BE-FIT as part of its regular services. However, knowledge translation approaches are needed to ensure the sustainability of the programming as part of clinical care. We will test how adding referral support for each of the six provincial BC Cancer Centres can improve the number of individuals referred to the BE-FIT program. Secondary outcomes to be examined are the effectiveness of BE-FIT when delivered outside a research setting, along with factors that impact the adoption, implementation, and maintenance of the BE-FIT program. These findings will be essential for supporting the success and sustainability of this type of supportive cancer care delivery, and we will gain important knowledge that may help implement other supportive cancer care programs across Canada