IMPLEMENTATION OF CANCER-PREVENTIVE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SESSIONS: GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Since the beginning of 2023, the UcanACT consortium has worked on a number of core deliverables that will be implemented within the implementation phase of the project. They are all designed to meet the project's overall objective, aiming at engaging adults and senior citizens to practice physical activity as a tool for cancer prevention within public urban green spaces. The Practical Intervention Methodology (PIM) is the second core deliverable to have been published to date and to be accessible.
At the beginning of 2024 will start the project implementation phase. It consists of kick-off training sessions and executing Pilot cancer-preventive physical activity (CPPA) actions aimed at testing and validating the physical activity exercises and recommendations outlined in the Practical Intervention Methodology.
This core project deliverable has been conceived to provide conceptual and methodological bases for the implementation of Pilot CPPA actions – understood as a combination of exercises of moderate intensity aimed at prevention of cancer diseases. This activity will be delivered from 2024 within two rounds by physiotherapists to adults and senior citizens over the age of 50, who never have suffered from cancer diseases (primary prevention), who were diagnosed with cancer (secondary prevention) or who are cancer survivors (tertiary prevention). Pilot actions will be implemented within the three project pilot territories - namely Bologna (Italy), Kilkenny (Ireland) and Munich (Germany) - and run for about twelve weeks.
To ensure the quality of its implementation, the Methodology will be first delivered to physiotherapists via an online educational course called Massive Open Online Course. Thereafter, the PIM will be introduced in person to physiotherapists through kick-off training sessions in each of the project pilot territories.
Physiotherapists will be provided with recommendations and guidelines on delivering cancer-preventive exercises to adults and senior citizens within public urban green spaces, insights on the benefits of physical activity in cancer prevention, and with a training curriculum for delivering the Methodology. They will also be provided with indications on the operation and structure of the UcanACT App aimed at supporting the participants in performing CPPA when not supervised by physiotherapists during the Pilot CPPA actions.
The Practical Intervention Methodology will for the first time be tested and adjusted to the project pilot territories and public urban green spaces during the first-round of Pilot CPPA actions. PIM’s application will be analysed and evaluated during the evaluation period between the two rounds, before being validated for its further use by other European municipalities interested in promotion of physical activity for cancer prevention within the second Pilot round.
To read the Practical Intervention Methodology and learn more about the guidelines and methodological bases for the implementation of cancer-preventive physical exercises, we invite you to click here.
The German and Italian versions of the Methodology will soon be available. Stay tuned!
For additional information about the two other core project deliverables, please refer to the links below: