The background and purpose of this paper is to investigate adherence, exercise performance levels and associated factors in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients participating in a guided home-based prophylactic exercise program during and after treatment [swallowing sparing intensity modulated radiation therapy (SW-IMRT)]. Fifty patients were included in the study. Adherence was defined as the percentage of patients who kept up exercising; exercise performance level was categorized as low: ≤1, moderate: 1–2, and high: ≥2 time(s) per day, on average. Associations between 6- and 12-week exercise performance levels and age, gender, tumour site and stage, treatment, intervention format (online or booklet), number of coaching sessions, and baseline HNC symptoms (EORTC-QLQ-H&N35) were investigated. Adherence rate at 6 weeks was 70% and decreased to 38% at 12 weeks. In addition, exercise performance levels decreased over time (during 6 weeks: 34% moderate and 26% high; during 12 weeks: 28% moderate and 18% high). The addition of chemotherapy to SW-IMRT [(C)SW-IMRT] significantly deteriorated exercise performance level. Adherence to a guided home-based prophylactic exercise program was high during (C)SW-IMRT, but dropped afterwards. Exercise performance level was negatively affected by chemotherapy in combination with SW-IMRT.
About this publication: Computer mediated interpersonal interactions are defining our daily lives as we know it. Studying this phenomenon with various methodologies, across different cultures and traditions is a crucial component in understanding social ties. This book brings together articles that approach online dating from a range of cultural and critical perspectives.The research decodes the level of engagement and manner of approaching online dating in various countries such as France, India, China, Turkey, Cuba, USA and Portugal. Mapping the history of dating and courtship shows the evolution of these practices even before the introduction of the online medium and traces parallels and differences between old and new traditions.
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Described are the results of an investigation in the appreciation of distance learning, limited to a case study with an online lab-experiment. Together with other educational institutes and companies Fontys University of Applied Sciences participated in a number of projects in which distance learning courses were developed. Some courses have been integrated in the regular curriculum. Our study was set up to get insight into the appreciation of students for this way of learning, especially concerning online lab-experiments. By using surveys and interviews after the students accomplished either a regular course or a distance learning course on the same object we tried to get a better understanding of how students used the course and appreciated it. Also we wanted to know whether an online lab-experiment is more or less effective than a regular one. Preliminary data analyses have shown that the appreciation of an online lab-experiment is dependent on a number of items, like the educational contents of the experiment itself, the way accompanying theory is presented, possibilities of doing the experiment in an alternative way, the organization around the experiment etc. It appears also that students give serious suggestions on developing other online lab-experiments.
