# Dissemination planning in exercise oncology trials—a systematic review of trial protocols

## TL;DR

This review finds that exercise oncology trial protocols often lack detailed plans for sharing research results, which is essential for translating findings into practice.

## Contribution

The study evaluates adherence to specific SPIRIT 2013 checklist items for dissemination planning in exercise oncology trials.

## Key findings

- Only 36.1% of trial protocols reported dissemination plans.
- Most trials planned to share results via journals and conferences.
- Fewer than 5% addressed author eligibility or use of professional writers.

## Abstract

The paucity of exercise rehabilitation services for cancer survivors indicates a research-to-practice gap. Dissemination and Implementation research addresses this gap by focusing on the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions. Dissemination, the active process of sharing research findings, is critical to the implementation of evidence-based practice. This systematic review examined adherence of exercise oncology trial protocols to the SPIRIT 2013 checklist items pertaining to dissemination planning, items 31a, 31b, and 31c, which address how dissemination is planned, authorship eligibility is considered, and what plans are in place to share data and the protocol.

A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science—Core Collection, Google Scholar, and the Central Trial Registry via Cochrane were searched (16/05/2024). Title and abstract screening, full-text review, and data extraction were completed in duplicate.

Eighty-six trial protocols were included, thirty-one (36.1%) did not report dissemination plans. Item 31 was reported as follows (n = number of trials, frequency (%)); 31a plans to communicate trial results to: participants (n = 19, 22.1%), healthcare professionals (n = 43, 50%), the public (n = 25, 29.2%), and other relevant groups (n = 22, 25.6%), 31b: author eligibility (n = 3, 3.5%) and plans regarding use of professional writers (n = 4, 4.7%), and 31c plans for granting access to participant level dataset (n = 28, 32.6%), full protocol (n = 1, 1.2%) and statistical code (n = 1, 1.2%). Peer-reviewed journal (n = 41, 47.67%) and conferences/professional meetings (n = 38, 44.2%) were the most frequently reported planned dissemination strategies.

Reporting of the SPIRIT 2013 checklist Item 31 is generally low in exercise oncology trial protocols. Greater consideration of dissemination planning is required to support the implementation of exercise oncology research into practice.

Registration:
https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/M8HFP

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-025-09532-4.