Successes and challenges of implementing teleprehabilitation for onco-surgical candidates and patients’ experience: a retrospective pilot-cohort study

Abstract

This study documents the implementation of a multimodal teleprehabilitation program (e.g., completion rate, exercise metrics, and program successes and challenges) for cancer patients undergoing surgery. It also documents the patients’ experience of the program. This pilot-cohort study included adults scheduled for elective thoracic and abdominal cancer resection surgery, referred to the prehabilitation clinic to engage in physical activity, and received a teleprehabilitation program between August 1st, 2020, and February 28th, 2021. The technology platform provided to the patients included a tablet and a wearable device to facilitate communication and data collection. Data collected for this article were acquired through virtual physical activity monitoring in addition to patient charts. Qualitative data collected comprised of successes and challenges of implanting a teleprehabilitation program, in addition to patients’ perspectives of the program. Quantitative data collected comprised of the exercise metrics, perioperative functional outcomes, in addition to the surgical and postoperative outcomes. Ten patients (8 males and 2 females; mean age: 68.3 years, SD 11.96) diagnosed with various thoracoabdominal malignancies were included in the current descriptive study. The successes identified were related to recruitment and assessment, improvement in functional capacity, clinic scheduling and interventions, and optimal medical follow-up. The challenges identified were related to the adoption of the technologies by patients and the multidisciplinary team, the accurate acquisition of patient physical activity data, and the initial costs to acquire the new technologies. Patients were satisfied with the teleprehabilitation program (i.e., services delivered; average appreciation: 96%), and they perceived the technologies provided to be 90% user-friendly. The findings of the current study highlight important concepts in view of the current international health paradigm changes prioritizing remote interventions facilitated through digital communication technologies. It provides important insight into the clinical application of telehealth in elderly populations, notably in the context of acute preoperative cancer care. This article may provide guidance for other cancer care facilities aiming to implement teleprehabilitation programs.