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Case studies on psychosocial factors that help make exercise programmes for prostate cancer patients self-sustaining
  1. Isaac Nikolai Fox1 and
  2. Richard Wassersug2
  1. 1 Independent Scholar, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
  2. 2 Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  1. Correspondence to Dr Richard Wassersug, Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; richard.wassersug{at}ubc.ca

Abstract

Objectives Patients with prostate cancer (PCa) benefit from regular exercise, but it is difficult for patients to maintain an exercise regime. We examined two exercise programmes that have proven to be self-sustaining with the goal of identifying features they share that may contribute to their success.

Methods We compared the FC Prostata football (soccer) league in Denmark and the ‘Butts in a Boat’ (BIAB) dragon-boating team in Canada. The FC Prostata Project Coordinator and the BIAB team leaders provided information on their programmes’ history and structure.

Results Both programmes are team-based with regularly scheduled intense exercise at their core. In both cases, social activities evolved spontaneously, starting with the men going out for food and/or drinks after practices. The sustainability of these programmes may be driven by the regular socialisation linked to the fitness activities.

Conclusions Our case studies suggest that exercise programmes for PCa patients may have a good chance of being self-sustaining, if they are: (1) centred around intense exercise, (2) of a team nature, (3) structured to promote egalitarianism and avoid one-on-one competition within teams, yet (4) have some competitions between teams. The data suggest that informal social activities organised by patients after team practices may be important for building fellowship and strengthening patients’ commitment to exercise both for themselves and for their team members.

  • quality of life
  • prostate
  • rehabilitation
  • social care

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as online supplemental information.

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Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as online supplemental information.

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Footnotes

  • Contributors RW and INF both conceptualised and executed the research. INF wrote the initial draft; both authors edited it prior to submission. RW is responsible for the content of this paper as guarantor.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.