The physical activity of colorectal cancer survivors during chemotherapy : Based on the theory of planned behavior.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical activity (PA) of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors during chemotherapy and to explain it based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). In addition, the effects of planning, past physical activity (P-PA), and self-efficacy on the PA of CRC survivors were analyzed. METHODS: CRC survivors were recruited in a third-grade hospital of Changchun via a convenience sampling method. All survivors were asked to complete self-report questionnaires assessing medical and demographic variables, PA, constructs from the TPB, P-PA, planning, and self-efficacy. RESULTS: A total of 174 CRC survivors were included in this study. Only 7.5% (13) of these CRC survivors had sufficient PA, and 32.2% (56) of CRC survivors were completely sedentary. Gender, education level, working status, residential location, method of payment for medical expenses, and cancer stage were all associated with PA in these patients (P < 0.05). The path model was able to explain 54% (R2 = 0.54) of the PA variance in these CRC survivors. P-PA had the greatest impact on PA during chemotherapy, and P-PA affected PA both directly and indirectly through planning. CONCLUSIONS: Insufficient PA in CRC survivors was associated with a variety of factors, with P-PA having the greatest impact on this outcome. The results of this study suggest that attention must be paid to survivors who had exhibited insufficient PA prior to initial diagnosis.

Validation of an information-motivation-behavioral skills model of upper limb functional exercise adherence among Chinese postoperative patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: The adherence to postoperative upper limb functional exercise in breast cancer (BC) patients is poor which can lead to adverse health outcomes. Effective intervention content to improve adherence is still unclear. The information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model is a theoretical model that has been widely used to promote health behavior in many disease populations and may, therefore, help to explain and promote adherence to functional exercise. In this study, we validated the IMB model in a sample of postoperative BC patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 165 postoperative patients with BC was performed in a hospital. We collected information on demographics, functional exercise knowledge (information), personal and social motivation (motivation), objective skills and self-efficacy (behavioral skills), and functional exercise adherence (behavior). Measured variable path analyses were applied for the IMB framework. RESULTS: The IMB elements explained 37.9% of the variance in adherence. As predicted, behavioral skills had a direct effect on adherence (ß = 0.509; P < 0.05) and mediated the effects of knowledge (indirect effect 0.092, P < 0.05) and motivation (indirect effect 0.251, P < 0.05) on adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Behavioral skills have a direct effect on functional exercise adherence and a mediating effect on the influence of knowledge and motivation on adherence. Thus, these factors represent key determinants of exercise adherence. The IMB model could be applied to the upper limb exercise adherence of postoperative BC patients. These findings indicate that the promotion of exercise adherence interventions may benefit from targeting patients' exercise adherence-related knowledge, motivation, and behavioral skills.