Abstract
Introduction: Breast cancer survivors (BCS) often experience side effects such as the fatigue, sleep disturbance and depression symptom cluster (FSDSC). Previous studies have demonstrated the potential efficacy of Tai Chi (TC) for improving FSDSC in BCS in a hospital setting in China. This study will explore the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of the Easy 8 Form TC protocol as an adjuvant therapy in BC survivorship care, adapted to a regional Australian community setting.
Methods and analysis: The purpose of the present study is to provide a codesigned TC protocol. This multimethod study comprises a codesign study, followed by a pilot study of the adapted TC protocol. In stage 1, women with lived experience of breast cancer and community-based healthcare providers will be involved with the codesign study. The transcripts from the focus group, interviews and workshop will be thematically analysed to inform adaptations to the TC protocol to fit into the local primary health sector. Stage 2 will be a small prospective pilot study with a group of BCS trialling the adapted TC intervention. The primary outcomes of the trial are the feasibility and acceptability of TC for BCS. The secondary outcomes are clinical measures of fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression and quality of life, which will be collected from the participants of the pilot study for pre-post comparison. The findings from this study will inform stakeholder participation in codesign research with BCS. The findings will also benefit further iterations of the TC intervention, as future research continues exploring the health effects of TC.
Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval was granted by Charles Darwin University Human Research Ethics Committee. Results will be reported in the trial registry and disseminated to participants via a peer-reviewed journal.
Trial registration number: ACTRN12626000050358 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry.
Keywords
breast tumours, cancer survivors, clinical protocols, fatigue, patient participation, quality of life
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
7-31-2026
E-ISSN
20446055
Volume
16
Issue
7
PubMed ID
42538108
Publication Title
BMJ Open
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
RAS ID
100653
Funding Information
This study was funded by Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
First Page
e118474
Recommended Citation
Skinner, S., Kwok, W., Tan, J., Wang, T., Bressington, D., Yao, L., & Easpaig, B. N. G. (2026). Codesign and implementation of a Tai Chi intervention for managing the fatigue, sleep disturbance and depression symptom cluster in breast cancer survivors in regional Australia: A feasibility study protocol. BMJ Open, 16, Article e118474. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-118474