13 research outputs found
Dropout from exercise trials among cancer survivors—An individual patient data meta-analysis from the POLARIS study
Introduction: The number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors has increased in recent years; however, participants dropping out of the trials are rarely described. The objective of the present study was to assess which combinations of participant and exercise program characteristics were associated with dropout from the exercise arms of RCTs among cancer survivors. Methods: This study used data collected in the Predicting OptimaL cAncer RehabIlitation and Supportive care (POLARIS) study, an international database of RCTs investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors. Thirty-four exercise trials, with a total of 2467 patients without metastatic disease randomized to an exercise arm were included. Harmonized studies included a pre and a posttest, and participants were classified as dropouts when missing all assessments at the post-intervention test. Subgroups were identified with a conditional inference tree. Results: Overall, 9.6% of the participants dropped out. Five subgroups were identified in the conditional inference tree based on four significant associations with dropout. Most dropout was observed for participants with BMI >28.4 kg/m2, performing supervised resistance or unsupervised mixed exercise (19.8% dropout) or had low-medium education and performed aerobic or supervised mixed exercise (13.5%). The lowest dropout was found for participants with BMI >28.4 kg/m2 and high education performing aerobic or supervised mixed exercise (5.1%), and participants with BMI ≤28.4 kg/m2 exercising during (5.2%) or post (9.5%) treatment. Conclusions: There are several systematic differences between cancer survivors completing and dropping out from exercise trials, possibly affecting the external validity of exercise effects.</p
‘It was a safe place for me to be’: accounts of attending women’s community services and moving beyond the offender identity
Based on qualitative analysis of interviews with women attending Women’s Community Services (WCSs), the paper highlights narrative strategies through which women refute the offender identity. Accounts suggest that relationships with key workers and peers and the education and employment opportunities available at the WCSs are crucial in supporting desistance from offending. In addition the accounts demonstrate an awareness of the social structural disadvantage in which their offending is embedded. In the face of a renewed emphasis by the Ministry of Justice on the punishment of women serving community sentences and the ending of dedicated funding streams for WCSs, the paper argues that desistance rather than the Risk, Need, Responsivity model best explains what is effective for women attending WCSs
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NGO’s and advocacy communications on sexual and reproductive health and rights: from the North to the South
Women in developing and developed countries can still suffer from constraints on their ability to exercise their reproductive rights, being subject to gendered norms and forms of control over their bodies and encountering various difficulties to accessing healthcare services. Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) thus continue to matter for the advancement of gender equality, whilst communications when strategically used can shape support for progressive policies. This project seeks to advance research on gender development and advocacy communications for social change. A core question asked here is how can communications be better used for advocacy on SRHR? Making use of a mixed methods approach, this research engages with a sample of 52 feminist and health NGOs, located in both the North and the South. In depth interviews with gender experts from the organizations were combined with a survey applied to the communication professionals, followed by content and discourse analysis of their institutional websites and social media engagement. This paper provides a condensed examination of early research findings and of core theoretical frameworks, arguing over the need to deconstruct discourses around SRHR under challenging times and concluding that NGOs need better communication strategies and practices in their advocacy communication efforts
Dropout from exercise trials among cancer survivors:An individual patient data meta-analysis from the POLARIS study
INTRODUCTION: The number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors has increased in recent years; however, participants dropping out of the trials are rarely described. The objective of the present study was to assess which combinations of participant and exercise program characteristics were associated with dropout from the exercise arms of RCTs among cancer survivors.METHODS: This study used data collected in the Predicting OptimaL cAncer RehabIlitation and Supportive care (POLARIS) study, an international database of RCTs investigating the effects of exercise among cancer survivors. Thirty-four exercise trials, with a total of 2467 patients without metastatic disease randomized to an exercise arm were included. Harmonized studies included a pre and a posttest, and participants were classified as dropouts when missing all assessments at the post-intervention test. Subgroups were identified with a conditional inference tree.RESULTS: Overall, 9.6% of the participants dropped out. Five subgroups were identified in the conditional inference tree based on four significant associations with dropout. Most dropout was observed for participants with BMI >28.4 kg/m 2 , performing supervised resistance or unsupervised mixed exercise (19.8% dropout) or had low-medium education and performed aerobic or supervised mixed exercise (13.5%). The lowest dropout was found for participants with BMI >28.4 kg/m 2 and high education performing aerobic or supervised mixed exercise (5.1%), and participants with BMI ≤28.4 kg/m 2 exercising during (5.2%) or post (9.5%) treatment. CONCLUSIONS: There are several systematic differences between cancer survivors completing and dropping out from exercise trials, possibly affecting the external validity of exercise effects.</p