Environmental influences on physical activity behaviours in breast cancer patients: A pilot study

Abstract

The physical and psychosocial benefits of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for breast cancer survivors (BCS) on treatment are well documented. Regrettably, the majority of BCS report insufficient levels of MVPA during treatment. While several studies have investigated the intrapersonal (i.e., attitudes, self-efficacy) and interpersonal (e.g., lack of social support) correlates of physical activity for women receiving therapy for breast cancer, no study has objectively measured and examined the broader environmental-level correlates that have been shown to be important in non-diseased populations. Through the linkage of accelerometry and GPS data, the current study examined what characteristics of the environment influence MVPA in women receiving treatment for breast cancer. Twenty BCS were recruited from the QEII Health Sciences Center in Halifax, NS. Consenting participants were outfitted with an accelerometer and GPS unit to be worn for nine consecutive days. To map where patients were expending the total number of minutes of MVPA, the accelerometry data was linked by time with the GPS data and imported into a geographic information system (ArcGIS) for processing. Once merged, the data was geocoded to discover the locations where MVPA was occurring. Analyses showed that 45% of the BCS did not meet the minimum recommended 150 minutes/week of MVPA (M=140.0 ± 89.3). Those engaging in MVPA did so primarily at home (68%), however additional activity was accumulated during working hours and commuting. Repeated calls have been made to develop multi-level MVPA interventions that target factors beyond individual patient characteristics and a greater understanding of where BCS are engaging in activity will facilitate the development of potential intervention targets in future studies.