A tailored eHealth guidance and exercise prescription tool for men with metastatic prostate cancer: a protocol for feasibility, safety and usability testing

Objective: To test the feasibility and usability of ‘Exercise Guide’, a patient‐centred online guidance tool that aims to increase levels of exercise knowledge, confidence and skills whilst undergoing treatment for or living with metastatic prostate cancer. Methods: In total 15 men with diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer will be recruited to test the online tool in a lab‐based setting. This will involve navigating around the website, and generating and viewing tailored exercise prescription. Participants will engage in a ‘think aloud’ protocol and sessions will be recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify interactions. The prescribed exercises will be performed and filmed under observation. Expert exercise physiologists will determine safety and effectiveness of exercises by using a movement screening pro‐forma to grade filmed exercises. Following the testing period, participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their perceptions of the advice received in terms of relevance, usefulness, credibility, and ease of understanding. Results: Given we are using a person‐centred approach, we expect the men will find the tool acceptable and understandable as considerations have been made based on preferences and needs. However, due to the iterative nature of the project, we will use feedback to further tailor the guidance tool. The study will be completed in August 2018. Conclusions: The results from this study will help refine the ‘Exercise Guide’ tool, which will then be implemented within a pilot randomised control trial. This potentially valuable tool may enhance physical activity levels and quality of life for men with metastatic prostate cancer.