Oncology care providers’ awareness and practice related to physical activity promotion for breast cancer survivors and barriers and facilitators to such promotion: a nationwide cross-sectional web-based survey

Abstract

Purpose A known barrier to getting breast cancer survivors (BCSs) to engage in habitual exercise is a lack of information on recommended physical activity levels provided to them by oncology care providers (OCPs). However, the actual situation in Japan remains unclear. This study sought to clarify OCPs’ awareness and practice related to Japan’s physical activity recommendation for BCSs and to ascertain barriers to routine information provision. Methods We conducted a web-based survey involving members of the Japanese Breast Cancer Society (JBCS) and the Japanese Association of Cancer Rehabilitation between Dec. 2018 and Feb. 2019. Results Of 10,830 members, 1,029 (9.5%) responded. Only 19.1% were aware of the details of the JBCS physical activity recommendation, and only 21.2% routinely provided physical activity information to BCSs. Factors related to being aware of the recommendation details were 1) availability of the guidelines, 2) experience reading relevant parts of the guidelines, and 3) involvement in multidisciplinary team case meetings. Barriers to routine information provision were 1) absence of perceived work responsibility, 2) underestimation of survivors’ needs, 3) lack of resources, 4) lack of self-efficacy about the recommendation, and 5) poor knowledge of the recommendation. Conclusions Only one fifth of the OCPs routinely provided physical activity information. Barriers to provision were poor awareness, self-efficacy, and attitudes and unavailable resources. The physical activity recommendation needs to be disseminated to all OCPs and an information delivery system needs to be established for BCSs to receive appropriate information and support to promote their engagement in habitual physical activity.

Do Oncologists Recommend the “Pill” of Physical Activity in Their Practice? Answers from the Oncologist and Patients’ Perspectives

“…Furthermore, another study in 2006 suggested that there is a link between increased muscle mass through resistance training and improved quality of life in cancer survivors [20]. Nevertheless, despite all the scientific literature that we can find in favour of PA for patients with cancer, it has been seen that most oncologists recommend PA but do not prescribe the type of exercise that best fits patients with cancer based on the existing literature, among other reasons due to a lack of knowledge about how to refer to clinical PA guidelines or lack of time during medical appointments [22,23]. This study is a novel starting point and fills a gap in the literature, as no study has previously looked at this issue, bringing together the views of both groups simultaneously (i.e., oncologists and their patients).…”

Effect of personalized care based on OPT model on perceived control and quality of life among patients with breast cancer

“…Many researchers have carried out a series of research work to improve the level of perceived control and the QoL of patients with BC, such as psychological education intervention (22)(23)(24)(25)(26), nursing self-care educational intervention (27) and Web/or telephone intervention (28)(29)(30)(31), physical activities (11,(32)(33)(34)(35), the appearance care (36), self-disclosure intervention (37), community based intervention (38). Although these projects have achieved satisfactory results, there are few comprehensive methods including postoperative physical, psychological and social rehabilitation.…”