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.