Effects of Exercise Training on Sleep Disturbances, Anxiety, and Depression among Newly Diagnosed Elderly Lung Cancer Patients

The majority of cancer survivors are elderly people; therefore, survivorship in the elderly is an important issue in cancer care. Sleep disturbances, anxiety, and depression are among the most disturbing symptoms among lung cancer patients. It has been proposed that physical activity enhancement or exercise training can be effective in improving symptoms and quality of life in cancer patients. However, it has not been examined in elderly lung cancer survivors. Therefore, the purposes of this study are to examine among the elderly lung cancer survivor: 1. the changes of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances in one year after diagnosis; 2. the changes of physical activity levels in one year after diagnosis, the physical; 3. the physical preferences; 4. the relationship between quality of life and physical activity; 5. related factors of physical activity and quality of life; 6. effects of home-based walking exercise training on improving anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances; 7. the mediating effect depression and anxiety; 8. effects of home-based walking exercise training on quality of life and survival. In the first and second years of this study, a prospective longitudinal study design will be used and in the third and forth years of study, the experimental design will be undertaken. Instruments include motion sensors, physical activity scale for the elderly, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung cancer, Physical Activity Preferences, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality of Life Index. Statistical analyses include descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, latent growth modeling, and GEE. Results from this study will provide important implications for improving symptom management and quality of life for elderly lung cancer survivors.