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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1430083
This article is part of the Research Topic Promotion of Quality of Life in Oncology Patients And Survivors Through Physical Activity View all 5 articles

A cross-sectional study exploring the perception of exercise oncology in the Italian population

Provisionally accepted
Anita Borsati Anita Borsati 1Diana Giannarelli Diana Giannarelli 2Giampaolo Pase Giampaolo Pase 1Christian Ciurnelli Christian Ciurnelli 1Linda Toniolo Linda Toniolo 1Ilaria Trestini Ilaria Trestini 1Daniela Tregnago Daniela Tregnago 1Lorenzo Belluomini Lorenzo Belluomini 1Marco Sposito Marco Sposito 1Jessica Insolda Jessica Insolda 1Michele Milella Michele Milella 1Federico Schena Federico Schena 1Sara Pilotto Sara Pilotto 1*Alice Avancini Alice Avancini 1
  • 1 University of Verona, Verona, Veneto, Italy
  • 2 Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic, Rome, Lazio, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    We aim to examine the population's perception of physical exercise in patients with cancer.Materials and Methods: An anonymous survey was conducted to reach a sample of Italian adults. The questionnaire investigated sociodemographic factors, physical exercise levels, and perceptions about the importance, benefits, and safety of exercise, the support from oncologists and family/friends, as well as the capability and ease of patients of exercise.Results: Overall, 838 persons participated in this survey. The majority of respondents agree that exercise is important (60.5%) and beneficial (61.5%) for patients with cancer during anticancer treatments, whereas 40.2% believed in its safety. Forty-two percent and 51.9% of participants expressed a positive opinion regarding the advice of oncologists and the encouragement of family/friends to exercise, respectively. Only 27.2% of respondents feel that patients are capable of exercising, and 9.0% agree that it is easy for them.Although the population has a favorable perception of the importance and benefits of physical exercise, they do not still believe that patients are capable of performing it.Increasing awareness of the feasibility of a physical exercise intervention in the context of cancer is crucial to supporting patients.

    Keywords: physical exercise, Cancer, Population perception, stigma, Patients with cancer

    Received: 09 May 2024; Accepted: 23 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Borsati, Giannarelli, Pase, Ciurnelli, Toniolo, Trestini, Tregnago, Belluomini, Sposito, Insolda, Milella, Schena, Pilotto and Avancini. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sara Pilotto, University of Verona, Verona, 37129, Veneto, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.