Physical activity has multiple benefits for people living with and beyond cancer, yet many UK cancer survivors are not active to levels recommended by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.
Dr Justin Webb and colleagues developed and tested a remote intervention which significantly improves physical activity in UK cancer survivors: the Move More Pack, an accessible and low-cost print-based intervention supported by online tools.
The Move More Pack was identified as ‘best practice’ and included within Public Health England guidance on physical activity as well as the Scottish Government’s cancer strategy. NHS Trusts, local authorities and county sports partnerships also signposted cancer survivors to the Move More Pack, distributed by Macmillan Cancer Support.
In the 12 months from October 2018 to September 2019, the Move More Pack was distributed to 22,000 cancer survivors by Macmillan Cancer Support. As a result of the national lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, and in a change to previous practice, local authorities and county sports partnerships including Oxfordshire, Derbyshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes actively promoted the Move More Pack as a resource to support physical activity at home for cancer survivors, while NHS Trusts across the UK signposted cancer survivors to the Move More Pack.
Dr Webb’s post-development analysis of the Move More Pack demonstrated that the intervention significantly improve physical activity in UK cancer survivors at 12 weeks, with changes maintained at 24 weeks.
Testing and evaluation of the intervention informed and influenced the practice of other national long-term condition charities in the creation and evaluation of support for patients. Dr Webb has continued his vital work on behavioural change interventions with the charity Versus Arthritis.
