2025/09/04 by Phillips, Jennifer, Metti, Emily, Wisniewski, Sydney +2
#Diseases #Medicine and Health Sciences #Neoplasms #Physical Therapy #Physiotherapy #Rehabilitation and Therapy
paper · doi:10.17605/osf.io/pu8r9
The aim of this systematic review is to evaluate and synthesise current literature related to the effects of physiotherapy interventions on quality of life (QoL) in children and young adults with cancer. Numerous studies have examined physical activity in relation to outcomes such as QoL, cancer-related fatigue, and motor function and “found a positive effect on many physiological and psychological health outcomes in paediatric cancer patients and survivors1.” However, few have addressed the broader spectrum of physiotherapy interventions and existing reviews tend to focus on specific cancer types, narrow age ranges, or isolated outcomes, leaving a gap in understanding the comprehensive effects of physiotherapy on QoL across the paediatric and young adult oncology population. A systematic review is therefore warranted to synthesise current evidence, guide clinical practice, identify research gaps, and inform the development of targeted rehabilitation strategies that support holistic care for patients undergoing treatment and for survivors. This project begins in late July 2025 and will conclude in early December 2025. This study requires access to online research databases including PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and Medline (Ovid) to conduct a broad search of current published and peer-reviewed articles. This review will also require the use of EndNote and Covidence for storing and screening studies. Since this is a systematic review and will not be directly working with other humans to collect primary data, the ethical related risks to this study are minimal. However, some foreseeable risks include loss of research data due to technological issues, missed deadlines and disagreements amongst team members, and researcher bias when selecting studies and critically reviewing data. Upon completing study selection and analysis, a manuscript will be created to summarise findings. It is the goal that this review will be published and used for application by physiotherapists to guide effective interventions in the treatment and rehabilitation of children and young adults with cancer to improve quality of life.