Beliefs and interests in physical activity programs of cancer survivors and their romantic partners

Lifestyle changes after cancer treatment in patients and their partners: a qualitative study

PURPOSE

Oncologists nowadays promote healthy lifestyle choices more often, focusing on diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and sleep, but the question is whether this is enough to establish actual change. As patients will have to achieve a healthy lifestyle at home in daily life, it is important to understand barriers and facilitators for lifestyle change for both patients and their partners.

METHODS

A qualitative interview study was done among patients who received chemotherapy for testicular (n = 10) or breast cancer (n = 7) and their partners (n = 17). The interview focused on how much they remembered the lifestyle advice given in hospital, whether and what they had adapted since diagnosis, and what they deemed as facilitators and barriers in maintaining lifestyle change.

RESULTS

Results showed that many patients and partners recalled that some advice was given in hospital but experienced this as too general and only at the start of treatment. Social contacts and the entire cancer experience helped facilitate change but were also seen as barriers. Other barriers were not considering healthy behaviors a priority or experiencing unhealthy choices as something nice after a trying time.

CONCLUSIONS

Oncologists and hospitals that provide lifestyle advice should provide cancer- and person-specific lifestyle advice, should offer this advice repeatedly into survivorship, and include the partner, as they are dedicated to improving lifestyle as well.

IMPLICATION FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Staying healthy after cancer is important to both patients and their partners, and both experience their own facilitators and barriers to achieving this. Seeing a healthy lifestyle as a joint goal might facilitate change.

Effects of dyadic-based physical activity intervention on cancer-related fatigue among cancer survivors: A scoping review

Objective

Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common adverse reactions to cancer survivors, which has a significant impact on the daily life. As a traumatic event, cancer not only brings great physical and mental harm to patients, but also poses a threat to the physical and psychological health of caregivers. Current studies have shown that physical activity improves cancer-related fatigue in cancer survivors. And studies have suggested that dyadic interventions are more effective in improving patient outcomes and may also provide some benefits to caregivers. But the literature on the effects of dyadic-based physical activity on improving cancer-related fatigue has not been synthesized. This scoping review described the scope and impact of studies on cancer-related fatigue with dyadic-based physical activity interventions.

Methods

Six databases which is PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL and Medline were searched for all studies of dyadic-based physical activity interventions with outcome measures including cancer-related fatigue published since the inception of the databases through May 2022. The search strategy was developed based on PICO principles.

Results

This article includes 6 pre and post-test designs and 2 randomized controlled trial design. The majority of participants were survivors with breast and lung cancer. The overall results showed that the effectiveness of dyadic-based physical activity interventions in improving cancer-related fatigue was unsatisfactory.

Conclusions

This scoping review suggests that current dyadic-based physical activity interventions are not well-researched among cancer survivors. In the future, more high-quality studies with more sophisticated and rigorous interventions are needed.

A Model of Social Support for a Patient–Informal Caregiver Dyad

Background

Close persons (informal caregivers) are the most important providers of support indicated by cancer patients. Cancer affects couples as a codependent system. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the multidimensional aspect of social support in a cancer patient–informal caregiver dyad.

Methods

The research project was cross-sectional. The diagnostic survey method and the survey technique were used. The study was conducted using standardised research tools: BSSS, POS, SSCS, TIPI, ET, SPT, and the authors' own tool for sociodemographic assessment.

Results

Patients and caregivers experienced injustice, exclusion, and a sense of loss with a similar intensity. Statistically significant differences between the examined patients and their caregivers were obtained for the support currently received (p < 0.01), emotional support (p < 0.05), and the general level of protective buffering support (p < 0.001). A higher level of information support for caregivers increases the need for support and a sense of support for patients.

Conclusion

The quality of functioning and mental well-being of patients is directly influenced by the way their caregivers experience the situation of caring for them; negative or positive states of caregivers, affecting the condition of patients, may affect the course of treatment and contribute to or delay the improvement of the state of health. The subjective sense of support in patients during treatment depends on the need for help that is shown to their caregivers. The sense of support variable is subjective and sometimes disproportionate to the support received and given. Therefore, both the patient and their loved one should be provided with care during the treatment process. In the treatment process, both patients and their caregivers need more protective buffering support that allows them to overcome difficulties related to stress, anxiety, and insecurity, thus weakening their negative effects rather than functional support: emotional, information, instrumental, or material.

Effects of remotely-delivered physical activity education on exercise beliefs and intentions of active and nonactive cancer survivors and their partners

Physical activity (PA) is recommended for cancer survivors and their romantic partners yet cancer couples may be unaware of the benefits of PA specific to them. Exercise interventions targeting survivors and partners simultaneously may prove effective at increasing exercise knowledge, intentions, and outcomes. To examine the effects of a remotely-delivered cancer-specific exercise education video on cancer survivors’ and their partners’ exercise knowledge, beliefs, and intentions. Cancer survivors (N = 209) and their romantic partners (N = 155) completed an online survey with an embedded education video randomized to half the sample. Group differences (education vs. control) on study constructs among the whole sample and on a subset of the sample not meeting exercise guidelines [i.e., less than 150 min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week; 50.5% survivors, 45.1% partners] were examined. Group differences on study constructs were also tested between survivors and partners meeting exercise guidelines or not. Survivors and partners in the education condition were more likely to correctly report the MVPA guidelines. The education increased survivors’ personal exercise importance, outcome expectations, and likelihood of joining an individual exercise program. Participants meeting guidelines were significantly different on multiple exercise beliefs compared to those who were not. Among those not meeting guidelines, the education increased survivors’ belief in the importance of exercising with their partner. A remotely-delivered exercise education video increased exercise knowledge and beliefs, which represents an important step in the development of couples’ exercise interventions for cancer survivors and their romantic partners.