Intense physical activity on the cardiorespiratory fitness of children with cancer

Abstract

Overview of the topic: This dissertation will explore the effects of low to high intense physical activity on the cardiorespiratory fitness of children diagnosed with cancer, either during or after chemotherapy. This review includes children with all cancer types and considers any physical activity that is of low to high intensity. • The Research Question: Does low to high intense physical activity improve the cardiorespiratory fitness of children with cancer either during or after chemotherapy? • The PICO elements: Population (P): children with cancer either undergoing, or having undergone chemotherapy Intervention (I): low to high intense physical activity Comparison (C): no comparison Outcome (O): improved cardiorespiratory fitness • Method applied: A systematic search was applied and resulted in the retrieval of four key studies. This approach included the use of key words entered into multiple databases and the applications of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Examples of the inclusion criteria include; English language, peer-reviewed and open access. Examples of the exclusion criteria include; adults, participants over 18 years old. Articles/studies were researched from 2012 till 2022 because this dissertation was commenced in 2022. • Results: The key studies were appraised using tools which include the CASP tool for Randomized Controlled Trial, CASP tool for Cohort Study, AXIS Appraisal tool for Cross-sectional studies and JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Quasi-Experimental Studies which is specific to the type of study being appraised. The findings showed that two out of four key studies to have found that low to high intense physical activity improves the cardiorespiratory fitness of children with cancer who have undergone or are undergoing chemotherapy. Three out of four key studies proved that children with cancer, who have undergone or are undergoing chemotherapy, have a weaker cardiorespiratory complex than the cardiorespiratory fitness of children who do not have cancer. • Implications and Recommendations: Further research on the specific population, intervention, comparison and outcome must be conducted to provide more conclusive evidence regarding the cardiorespiratory fitness of children with cancer either undergoing or having undergone chemotherapy in relation to low to high intense physical activity. This should be done for implementation of low to high intense physical activity as part of the non-pharmaceutical treatment plan for children with cancer either undergoing or have undergone chemotherapy to improve the cardiorespiratory fitness hence relieving the late effects of chemotherapy.