Characterizing the Exercise Behaviour, Preferences, Barriers, and Facilitators of Cancer Survivors in a Rural Canadian Community: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Autor: Jenna Smith-Turchyn, Lisa Allen, Jennifer Dart, Deanna Lavigne, Simran Rooprai, Helen Dempster, Richard Trenholm, Daniel Santa Mina, Catherine M. Sabiston, Lindsay MacMillan, Scott C. Adams
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Current Oncology, Vol 28, Iss 4, Pp 3172-3187 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1718-7729
1198-0052
DOI: 10.3390/curroncol28040276
Popis: Barriers, facilitators, and motivators to exercise for cancer survivors living in urban settings are well described in the literature. However, there is a lack of comparable information for cancer survivors living in rural communities. We describe the exercise behaviours, barriers, facilitators, and motivators to exercise participation of cancer survivors living in a rural Canadian community. Adult cancer survivors with a primary address in a rural region of Ontario, Canada, who had visited a community hospital in the previous five years were mailed a cross-sectional survey assessing current exercise volume (minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic and resistance exercise), as well as exercise preferences, barriers, and facilitators. Seventy-two survivors (mean age 65 years) completed the survey (16% response rate). A majority of respondents were diagnosed with breast cancer (49%) in the last 5 years (61%). Aerobic- and resistance-training guidelines for cancer survivors were met by 38% and 10% of respondents, respectively. Physical side effects were the most common barrier to exercise during treatment (65%) and post-treatment (35%). Being unaware of available exercise programs, time for exercise, distance to exercise services, and cost were commonly reported barriers during and post-treatment (reported by 10–22%). Respondents reported needing information from a qualified exercise professional (46%), access to a gym (33%) and exercise equipment (26%), and social support (25%) to facilitate exercise participation. Consistent with urban-based cancer survivors, most rural survivors surveyed in this study were not meeting the physical-activity guidelines and reported numerous exercise barriers. These findings can serve as a resource for this and similar rural communities when developing community-based exercise-support services for cancer survivors.
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