Assessments

Initial assessment

The one-on-one initial assessment is to be approximately 45 minutes in length. AEP is to use clinical judgment in collecting medical and musculoskeletal history, current (and previous) exercise habits, cancer diagnosis and treatment plan etc.

Outcome measures are expected to be completed along with any other measures the AEP deems necessary. These outcome measures will be reported back to the program via the link below or email (expo@essa.org.au) so that aggregated data from all of the enrolled patients can be used by the state chapter to formally analyse the outcomes of the study and for future use in lobbying and advocacy work.

The standard outcomes measures include:

• Basic anthropometry
  • Height,
  • Body mass,
  • Waist circumference,
  • Hip circumference
• Resting blood pressure
• 6-minute walk test
• 30s sit-to-stand
• 30s arm curl (only if time)

Patients will also complete a prostate cancer questionnaire:

• Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Prostate; FACT-P)
  • Questionnaire
  • Scoring sheet
    • You will be asked to report the following scores:
      • FACT-P Physical well-being
      • FACT-P Social well-being
      • FACT-P Emotional well-being
      • FACT-P Functional well-being
      • FACT-P Prostate-Specific well-being
      • FACT-P Total score

Final Assessment

The final assessment can be completed in a 30-minute appointment. During this appointment:
1) Outcome measures completed in the initial assessment should be re-taken.
2) Participants should be asked about their current physical activity habits
3) Future plans for exercise should be discussed.

It is recommended that questionnaires are completed prior to this final session to ensure they are completed. The AEP should notify the referring clinician of the assessment and future physical activity plans for the patient.

Once completed:
Once completed program-specific outcome measures must be submitted to the program via the link below or emailed directly to the ExPO team (expo@essa.org.au)

Post-program exercise training

One of the program goals is to increase long-term adherence to AEP group services. Over the 6 week program, patients should be encouraged to continue training following cessation of the Program. This can be achieved through education about the acute and long-term benefits of exercise, discussion of funding options and information regarding behaviour change. Given the program is fully funded, they still may have access to (depending on eligibility requirements):

• Medicare TCA (up to 5 sessions).
• Private Health.
• Income Protection.
• DVA.

The expo team are interested in longer-term outcomes for patients. If feasible, we ask that providers continue to repeat outcome assessments every 6- or 12-weeks, and submit these to the program via the expo website. Additional data on these patients that can be provided by the AEP would be greatly appreciated and would benefit the program long-term.