Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Journal
Support Care Cancer
Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and characterize the relevance and potential utility of an electronically delivered acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches to physical activity promotion for insufficiently active breast cancer survivors.
METHODS: The acceptance- and mindfulness-based physical activity intervention was delivered to participants electronically over the course of 4-8 weeks. It consisted of didactic videos, experiential exercises, and workbook-type activities that targeted principles from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with participants after they completed the intervention. Three coders conducted qualitative data analysis on interview transcripts to identify overarching themes and subthemes.
RESULTS: We recruited 30 participants. Of those, 16 engaged in an individual interview. The mean age of the sample was 58.4 years (SD = 13.8). The sample was relatively well educated (50.0% college graduates) and mostly overweight or obese (58.8%). We identified two overarching themes from interviews. They were centered on (1) internal and external barriers to physical activity adherence and (2) the utility of targeting core ACT processes (acceptance and defusion, mindfulness, and values clarification) for physical activity promotion.
CONCLUSION: Intervention content was perceived to be acceptable, relevant, and to fulfill important needs related to healthy living. Findings suggest that this approach to physical activity promotion can be delivered effectively online. Electronically delivered acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches hold promise for helping insufficiently active breast cancer survivors increase physical activity.
Keywords
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Breast Neoplasms, Cancer Survivors, Exercise, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Mindfulness, Acceptance and commitment therapy, Behavioral Sciences, Cancer survivors, Exercise, Mindfulness, Oncology
DOI
10.1007/s00520-021-06428-x
PMID
34313858
PMCID
PMC8314027
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
7-27-2021
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Oncology Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons