Attitudes, Beliefs, and Preferences of Older Stage I-III Breast Cancer Survivors Towards Physical Activity

Overview

This clinical trial studies the attitudes, beliefs, and preferences of older stage I-III breast cancer survivors towards physical activity. Studies have shown that older African-American and women of lower socioeconomic status are more likely than their Caucasian counterparts and women of higher socioeconomic status to have functional disability at the time of a new breast cancer diagnosis. Functional disability is the inability to independently complete activities of daily living and increases health care costs and deaths. The poor health status of older African-Americans with breast cancer has been suggested to diminish the long-term benefits from cancer treatment, resulting in older African-American women more likely to die from breast cancer compared to Caucasians. Questionnaires that measure the attitudes, beliefs, and preferences of older breast cancer survivors may lead to the development of an intervention that increases physical activity, improves functional and health status, and improves breast cancer treatment benefits translating to improved survival among older breast cancer survivors in general, and in particular among older African-American and lower socioeconomic status women with breast cancer.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To assess physical activity beliefs, attitudes and preferences (KAPs) of breast cancer (BCa) survivors to inform the development of a physical activity (PA) intervention that will foster initial enrollment and sustained participation, particularly for African American (AA) and socioeconomic status (SES)-disadvantaged BCa survivors. OUTLINE: INTERVIEWS AND GROUP DISCUSSION: Participants undergo a 2-hour one-on-one interview about their KAPs towards PA. Ten topics will be used to explore older women's attitudes toward PA: (a) terminology used to describe PA; (b) meaning of PA to older women; (c) usual PA during daily life; (d) perceived influences and benefits of PA on body and mind; (e) recent changes in PA and their influences on women's daily life; (f) facilitators and barriers to older women's participation in PA; (g) preferences for PA in general and specific types of PA; (h) age-related differences in attitudes toward PA; (i) ethnic differences in attitudes toward PA; (i) SES-related differences in attitudes toward PA; and (j) overall feeling about PA. Six topics will also be used to explore ethnic-specific and culture-specific contexts that surround older women's participation in PA: (a) older women's daily life schedules, and hardships and sufferings in daily lives; (b) culturally unique aspects of women's daily lives; (c) age-related difficulties and advantages in daily lives influencing older women's participation in PA; (d) ethnicity-related, cultural-related and SES-related difficulties and advantages in daily lives influencing women's participation in PA; (f) culturally available support for PA and women's preferences for support; and (g) older women's preferences for PA promotion programs. REFINEMENT OF THE PA INTERVENTION: Approximately 1-2 months after the conclusion of interviews, participants are invited to a joint session and presented with results of analyzed data. Participants are asked to review results and themes identified from interviews, and to concur whether conclusions capture their KAPs. Through this process a set of preferences that is agreed upon by all as most critical for enhancing PA participation, adherence, and retention will be identified.