Data collection
Information on patients’ physical activity levels and habits prior to being diagnosed with cancer, their personal attitudes to participation in sports, and their knowledge and expectations of the institutional physical exercise program was obtained using an ad hoc questionnaire. Data on patients’ diagnoses, demographics and treatments were retrieved from their medical records.
The 23‐item multidimensional PedsQL-4.0 Generic Core Scales14,17 (Italian edition) comprise 4 scales measuring: physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and school functioning. Answers are scored on a 5-point rating scale ranging from ‘never’ to ‘almost always’. The total score is calculated as the average of the scores for each item. Total scores were converted into a score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating a better QoL for functioning.
The 18‐item PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale15,16,29 (Italian edition) includes three subscales (with six items each) for general fatigue, sleep/rest fatigue, and cognitive fatigue. Respondents are asked to rate how much of a problem each item has been during the past month on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = never, 1 = almost never, 2 = sometimes, 3 = often, 4 = almost always).
Child self‐reports are age-specific, for age 5-7 years (young child), 8-12 years (child), and 13-18 years (adolescent). Older patients were administered the PedsQL Young Adult Report (ages 18-25 years).
The team’s psychologists, exercise professionals, or oncologists were available for patients and their parents to provide assistance regarding the self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered to the GYM group after participants had completed the 6-week training program, and to the No-GYM group at the baseline.