Author: Byeongsang Oh1, Diana Van Der Saag1, Morita Morgia1, Susan Carroll1, Frances Boyle2, Michael Back1, Gillian Lamoury1
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> GenesisCare, Mater Hospital, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
<sup>2</sup> Patricia Ritchie Centre for Cancer Care, Mater Hospital, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Conference/Journal: Am J Lifestyle Med
Date published: 2020 Dec 24
Other:
Volume ID: 15 , Issue ID: 4 , Pages: 475-477 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1177/1559827620983762. , Word Count: 146
Supportive cancer care services, including acupuncture and Tai Chi and Qigong (TQ), are offered to cancer patients to manage cancer symptoms and/or treatment-related adverse effects and improve quality of life during and after standard care. Normal face-to-face acupuncture and TQ group services were suspended during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to reduce the risk of transmission of infection and meet social distancing restriction guidelines. This led to a sudden shift from face-to-face sessions to telehealth sessions in the health care system. We report patients' experiences of TQ telehealth services as a new initiative developed for cancer care. We found that delivery of TQ telehealth is feasible and resulted in increased overall patient satisfaction with cancer care services during the lockdown. The delivery of TQ telehealth experiences and challenges are discussed.
Keywords: Qigong; Tai Chi; cancer; supportive care; telehealth.
PMID: 34366746 PMCID: PMC8299917 (available on 2021-12-24) DOI: 10.1177/1559827620983762