Correlates and participation in community-based exercise programming for cancer patients before and during COVID-19.

PURPOSE: COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ceased the opportunity for face-to-face group exercise classes with at risk populations, such as cancer patients, forcing an adaptation to online exercise programming. The purpose of this study was to compare the attendance rates and correlates of face-to-face exercise programming pre-COVID-19 to online programming delivered during the first year of pandemic restrictions. METHOD: The sample was comprised from 1189 patient records between 2018 and 2021. Data analysis was based around the three primary research questions: (i) whether the volume of attendance in online exercise programming differed from the previous face-to-face programming; (ii) whether there were any differences in attendee demographics between online and face-to-face classes; and (iii) whether there were specific correlates of online attendance that can inform future exercise programming. RESULTS: Class attendance increased significantly when online exercise classes were introduced during the first year of the pandemic when compared to face-to-face attendance the prior years (p < .01). Multiple demographic findings were also observed including age, gender, and geographic differences. CONCLUSION: While COVID-19 has effected the ability to deliver face-to-face exercise programs for cancer patients, online programming has proved a promising delivery model with greater geographical reach. The approach, however, has gender and age differences in program attendance so targeted programming to reach specific cancer patient demographics may need attention. These results add to the continuing research in the area of online exercise and online programming strategies offering an effective option for cancer patients to achieve targeted exercise prescription.

Synergies Between COVID-19 and Climate Change Impacts and Responses

The COVID-19 pandemic and anthropogenic climate change are global crises. We show how strongly these crises are connected, including the underlying societal inequities and problems of poverty, substandard housing, and infrastructure including clean water supplies. The origins of all these crises are related to modern consumptive industrialisation, including burning of fossil fuels, increasing human population density, and replacement of natural with human dominated ecosystems. Because business as usual is unsustainable on all three fronts, transformative responses are needed. We review the literature on risk management interventions, implications for COVID-19, for climate change risk and for equity associated with biodiversity, water and WaSH, health systems, food systems, urbanization and governance. This paper details the considerable evidence base of observed synergies between actions to reduce pandemic and climate change risks while enhancing social justice and biodiversity conservation. It also highlights constraints imposed by governance that can impede deployment of synergistic solutions. In contrast to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governance systems have procrastinated on addressing climate change and biodiversity loss as these are interconnected chronic crises. It is now time to address all three to avoid a multiplication of future crises across health, food, water, nature, and climate systems.