Commit to Fit – access to gym space for young people with cystic fibrosis in partnership with Helping Hand charity

ABSTRACT

Objectives: In Northern Ireland, the Public Health Agency fund an exercise referral programme "Healthwise" for patients over the age of 19. Currently there is no equivalent in NI for children. Our vision was to break down the barriers to exercise within the paediatric CF cohort and empower our service users to engage in more exercise. There is strong evidence to support that a change in lifestyle in childhood is more likely to be continued into adult life. We developed a partnership with Helping Hand, the children’s hospital charity, providing short-term gym access - "Commit to Fit". Methods: Service users were selected to participate based on decreased activity levels, socioeconomic circumstances and disease status with the aim of improving motivation and adherence to exercise. A local gym was identified and contact made to personal trainers through our physiotherapy outreach service. We provided general advice regarding CF and exercising, infection control and any relevant patient specific information. Baseline outcome measures included lung function, cycle ergometer exercise test, PAQ, CFQ-R questionnaire, and Kids screen 27 Health Questionnaire. Results: Fifteen participants started the programme at launch in 2019;9 completed, 2 dropped out, and 4 suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions. 100% of the 9 who completed the programme had improvements in their PAQ score. 88% maintained or improved their CFQ-R score.100% maintained or improved their percentage predicted in the cycle ergometer test. Conclusions: Results show improvements in exercise ability, participation levels and quality of life.This shows the value of promoting community exercise in the paediatric CF population. However, COVID-19 restrictions limited the recruitment of participants to the programme and the measurement of long-term health benefits. 2021/22 recruitment has restarted with 5 participants so far, andwe plan to followup with the initial group