Project report
Integrating Physical Activity and Family Health Education into Pediatric Oncology Outpatient Care: ATIVAONCO Project.
Micheli Carminatti, Érica Cappellaro, Herber Orlando Benitez, Ingrid Alessandra Victoria Wolin, Isadora Dalla Lana et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001ATIVAONCO is a program in southern Brazil that combines physical activity and family health education for children and adolescents receiving outpatient cancer treatment. The program runs twice weekly, offering movement activities for children and health education for parents. Over 300 children with a mean age of 7.5 years participated, and the program showed that integrating physical activity into cancer care is feasible and children engaged well with the activities.
Key points
- The program served over 300 children and adolescents with a mean age of 7.53 ± 3.30 years in an outpatient pediatric oncology setting
- Sessions combined health education for parents, adaptable movement activities for children, and discussion circles
- Recurring observations included good engagement with movement activities and improved social interaction
- The waiting area was transformed into a more active and welcoming space
- Implementation used team observations and participant feedback for iterative program adaptation
Limitations
This is a descriptive experience report without a comparison group or standardized outcome measurements, so it cannot determine the actual impact of the program on health outcomes, physical activity levels, or educational knowledge. The document notes that future evaluations should use prospective methods to measure these outcomes.
Abstract
ATIVAONCO is a university extension project designed to integrate adapted physical activity and family health education into routine pediatric oncology outpatient care in a public hospital in southern Brazil. This descriptive experience report summarizes the program's implementation from 2023 onward. Activities are offered twice weekly during a two-hour outpatient window and are delivered by exercise professionals and supervised trainees. Each session combines a brief health-education component for parents and caregivers, playful and adaptable movement activities for children and adolescents, and a closing discussion circle. Program monitoring uses team observations, participant and caregiver feedback, and session records to support iterative adaptation. Over the years, more than 300 children and adolescents participated in the project, with a mean age of 7.53 ± 3.30 years; 53.2% were male and 46.8% were female. Recurring observations included engagement with movement activities, social interaction, and use of the waiting area as a more active and welcoming space. ATIVAONCO project demonstrates the practical feasibility of embedding physical activity promotion and family-centered education into outpatient pediatric oncology care. Future evaluations should measure educational outcomes, physical activity exposure, patient-reported outcomes, and safety using standardized prospective methods.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Integration of adapted physical activity sessions and family health education into routine pediatric oncology outpatient care, delivered twice weekly with movement activities for children and health education for parents
- Population
- Over 300 children and adolescents (mean age 7.53 ± 3.30 years, 53.2% male) receiving outpatient pediatric oncology care at a public hospital in Brazil
Key finding
Over 300 children and adolescents participated in the program
Carminatti et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 15 Oct 2026