Steps to Recovery: a randomised trial aimed at increasing physical activity in hospitalised cancer patients

INTERVENTION: Participants in the intervention group will receive daily physiotherapy review for goal setting, and education on the use of a smart watch (Samsung Galaxy S3) to monitor steps taken per day and 'active minutes' per day. Participants in the intervention group will be encouraged to check their 'smart watch' through the day, to track number of steps and 'active minutes' and assist with goal attainment. By contrast, participants in the control group will have a 'locked' watch face and be unable to view the watch face to track their activity levels. Participants will be also be provided with written educational materials promoting physical activity, and an exercise logbook to record type and duration of exercise per day. The educational material has been produced specifically for this study, and includes images and information obtained from the Cancer Council of Australia's 'Exercise for People Living with Cancer' information booklet, and the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Position Statement on Exercise in Cancer Care. An ActivPAL device will be worn by participants in both the intervention and control arms for 72 hours at the beginning of each week. The purpose of the ActivPAL is to provide an additional way of recording number of steps and activity levels, and assessing the accuracy of the smart watch data. The intervention will be delivered daily by a physiotherapist for the duration of the inpatient admission, for up to 20 days. The intervention will take place on the oncology and haematology wards of St Vincent's Hospital. Goals are initially set based upon the result of the baseline number of steps and 'active minutes' obtained from the smart watch, measured over 24 hours. Participants will initially be given a goal of increasing number of steps by 20% over the following 24 hours, and to gradually increase 'active minutes' towards the COSA guidelines of 20‐30 minutes per day. The daily goal will co CONDITION: Cancer ‐ Any cancer Deconditioning;Hospitalised patients;Cancer rehabilitation; ; Deconditioning ; Hospitalised patients ; Cancer rehabilitation Physical Medicine / Rehabilitation ‐ Physiotherapy PRIMARY OUTCOME: Active minutes (recorded by smart watch)[Over the course of the inpatient admission (5‐20 days)] Change in steps taken per day, measured by recording steps taken over serial 24 hour periods obtained from Samsung Galaxy S3 smart watch pedometer function.[Over the course of the inpatient admission (5‐20 days)] SECONDARY OUTCOME: Accuracy of smart watch steps data, measured by comparing smart watch readings to ActivPAL readings[For periods where steps are measured by both the smart watch and ActivPAL device (3 days each week)] General Self Efficacy Scale[At the conclusion of the intervention] Participant satisfaction with the proposed physical activity intervention during hospitalisation, measured using a 1‐7 Likert scale designed for this study, and brief interviews with participants randomised to the active group. ; ; The interviews will be approximately 5‐10 minutes in duration, are semi‐structured and audio recorded.[At the conclusion of the intervention] INCLUSION CRITERIA: · Adults aged 18 years and over · Admitted to St Vincent’s Public Hospital, Sydney, under the care of an oncology or haematology team, with a cancer diagnosis (solid organ or haematological malignancy) · Patient is located on Ward 8S (oncology) or 9S (haematology) · Able to walk without assistance, as assessed formally by the ward physiotherapist · Expected inpatient length of stay >5 days · Able to provide written informed consent, and to participate and comply with study procedures