Exercise for Oncology Care Professionals (C4C+)

The Cost of Caring: Examining the Role of Exercise in Mitigating Oncology Care Provider Burnout (C4C+)

The goal of this preference-based pilot study will be to assess the feasibility and acceptability, and impact of a 12-week exercise intervention on oncology care provider burnout. Participants self-select to participate into one of two exercise groups. Group assignment will be based on participant preference.

Group 1: Supervised circuit-based resistance exercise

Group 2: Nature-based walking

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Compassion Fatigue; Burnout, Caregiver
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Circuit-based Resistance Training; Behavioral: Nature-based Walking

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 70
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Melanie Keats, PhD; Phone Number: 902-494-7173; Email: melanie.keats@dal.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Nova Scotia
    • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 2Y9
      • Recruiting
      • Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) Lab
      • Contact: Melanie Keats, PhD; Phone Number: 902-494-7173; Email: melanie.keats@dal.ca
    • Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3H 4R2
      • Recruiting
      • Physical Activity and Cancer (PAC) Lab
      • Contact: Phone Number: 9024732035; Email: chloe.cyr@dal.ca

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years of age or older;
• Able to speak/write in English;
• Must be providing formal care to cancer patients in a clinical setting within the Halifax Municipality;
• Actively practicing within the Nova Scotia Cancer Care Program; and
• Able and willing to engage in low-to-moderate intensity physical activity.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Exceeding Canadian physical activity guidelines of 150-minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week; and
• Any health condition that would preclude safe participation in a new exercise program.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Circuit-based resistance exercise; 12-week, supervised circuit-based resistance training program (2-3 times/week).	Behavioral: Circuit-based Resistance Training; Participants will engage in a 12-week circuit-based resistance training program 2-3 times/week. Each supervised session will last about 30 minutes and will consist of 5 resistance exercises. Each exercise will be completed for 1 minute for a total of 5 minutes followed by a 1-minute rest. The circuit will then repeated 3 additional times (total of 4 circuits). All resistance sessions will be supervised by a certified fitness professionals.
Active Comparator: Nature Walking; 12-weeks self-paced walking in nature (2-3 times/week).	Behavioral: Nature-based Walking; Participants will be asked to engage in 30 minutes of self-paced walking in nature 2-3 days/week. Participants will be provided with a list of resources that direct them to walkable nature/green spaces close to their home or workplace.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility - Participant Fidelity (Intervention Adherence)	Participant adherence to prescribed exercise intervention	Through study completion (about 2 years)
Feasibility - Safety	Adverse and serious adverse events	Through study completion (about 2 years)
Feasibility - Retention/Attrition	Percentage of participants who complete the 12-week intervention	Through study completion (about 2 years)
Feasibility - Attendance	Attendance is calculated as the percentage of exercise sessions completed by the total number of available exercise sessions over the 12-week intervention.	Through study completion (about 2 years)
Feasibility - Recruitment	Participant accrual as defined as the number of eligible participants who express an interest in participation divided by the number of participants who consent to participate.	Through study completion (about 2 years)
Feasibility - Participant Experience	Interviews with a diverse group of participants will be used to assess factors influencing participant selection of intervention type/setting, adherence to and satisfaction with the selected intervention.	Through study completion (about 2 years)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Resting heart rate	Resting heart rate	Pre to post intervention (12-week change)
Resting Blood Pressure	Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure	Pre to post intervention (12-week change)
Aerobic fitness	The six-minute walk test is used to assess aerobic capacity.	Pre to post intervention (12-week change)
Upper Body Strength	A hand-held dynamometer is used to assess upper body strength.	Pre to post intervention (12-week change)
Muscular Endurance	The 30-second sit-to-stand is used to assess lower body muscular endurance.	Pre to post intervention (12-week change)
Body Mass Index	Height and weight is used to assess body mass index	Pre to post intervention (12-week change)
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for Medical Personnel (MP)	The MBI-MP is used to assess burnout in medical professionals. The 22-item, 7-point Likert scale (0 = never to 6 = everyday) assesses burnout across three dimensions: emotional exhaustion (9 items), personal accomplishment (8 items), and depersonalization (5-items).	Baseline, mid-program (6-weeks), and post intervention (12-weeks).
Physical Activity Behavior - Self-reported	Self-reported physical activity is assessed by the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire. Higher scores indicate higher levels of physical activity. Participants reporting moderate-to-strenuous Leisure Score Index ≥ 24 are classified as active; those reporting moderate-to-strenuous Leisure Score Index ≤ 23 are classified as insufficiently active.	Baseline, mid-program (6-weeks), and post intervention (12-weeks).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Melanie Keats

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 2, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 5, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 30, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): June 1, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 28, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; exercise; burnout; oncology health professionals; nature-based walking
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Occupational Stress; Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Fatigue; Mental Fatigue; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Signs and Symptoms; Burnout, Psychological; Compassion Fatigue; Caregiver Burden; Motor Activity
• Other Study ID Numbers: C4C+

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No