Objective To develop an exercise rehabilitation program for the patients with upper limb lymphedema in order to provide standardised guidance for specialised management and nursing practice,and to promote the recovery of patients.Methods With the evidence-based methods,domestic and international literaturs were retrieved and the quality of the papers was evaluated.A research team was established to discuss and draft an initial version of the rehabilitation program for the patients with upper limb lymphedema.Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of consultation with 15 experts in lymphedema between June and September 2023.According to the expert opinions,the exercise rehabilitation program for patients with upper limb lymphedema was finalised after screening and modification of the indicators.Results The final version of the exercise rehabilitation program for patients with upper limb lymphedema includes four tier-1 indicators(routine upper limb rehabilitation exercises,aerobic exercise,anti-resistance exercise and respiratory training),15 tier-2 indicators,and 33 tier-3 indicators.The positive response rate in both rounds of expert consultation was 100.00%,with the authority coefficient at 0.95.In the second round of expert consultation,it was founds that the importance of tier-3 indicators was from 3.93 to 5.00,with the rationality from 4.13 to 5.00 and the feasibility from 3.53 to 4.93.The coefficient of variation in tier-1 and tier-2 indicators was 0.00-0.17 and 0.07-0.23,respectively.The coefficients of variation of per tier-3 indicator in importance,rationality and feasibility were from 0.00 to 0.22,0.00 to 0.22 and 0.05 to 0.22,respectively.The Kendall's coefficient of concordance(W)for tier-1 and tier-2 indicators was 0.490 and 0.387,respectively.The Kendall's W of per tier-3 indicator in importance,rationality and feasibility was 0.427,0.311 and 0.530,respectively,with statistically significant differences(P<0.001).Conclusion The exercise rehabilitation program developed in this study is scientific,comprehensive and highly targeted.It provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance for exercise rehabilitation and nursing care of the patients with upper limb lymphedema.

Objective To develop an exercise rehabilitation program for the patients with upper limb lymphedema in order to provide standardised guidance for specialised management and nursing practice,and to promote the recovery of patients.Methods With the evidence-based methods,domestic and international literaturs were retrieved and the quality of the papers was evaluated.A research team was established to discuss and draft an initial version of the rehabilitation program for the patients with upper limb lymphedema.Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of consultation with 15 experts in lymphedema between June and September 2023.According to the expert opinions,the exercise rehabilitation program for patients with upper limb lymphedema was finalised after screening and modification of the indicators.Results The final version of the exercise rehabilitation program for patients with upper limb lymphedema includes four tier-1 indicators(routine upper limb rehabilitation exercises,aerobic exercise,anti-resistance exercise and respiratory training),15 tier-2 indicators,and 33 tier-3 indicators.The positive response rate in both rounds of expert consultation was 100.00%,with the authority coefficient at 0.95.In the second round of expert consultation,it was founds that the importance of tier-3 indicators was from 3.93 to 5.00,with the rationality from 4.13 to 5.00 and the feasibility from 3.53 to 4.93.The coefficient of variation in tier-1 and tier-2 indicators was 0.00-0.17 and 0.07-0.23,respectively.The coefficients of variation of per tier-3 indicator in importance,rationality and feasibility were from 0.00 to 0.22,0.00 to 0.22 and 0.05 to 0.22,respectively.The Kendall's coefficient of concordance(W)for tier-1 and tier-2 indicators was 0.490 and 0.387,respectively.The Kendall's W of per tier-3 indicator in importance,rationality and feasibility was 0.427,0.311 and 0.530,respectively,with statistically significant differences(P<0.001).Conclusion The exercise rehabilitation program developed in this study is scientific,comprehensive and highly targeted.It provides a theoretical basis and practical guidance for exercise rehabilitation and nursing care of the patients with upper limb lymphedema.