Social support and physical activity for cancer survivors: a qualitative review and meta-study.

PURPOSE: Physical activity (PA) is important for well-being and coping among cancer survivors. Social support (SS) encourages adoption and maintenance of PA behavior, and PA contexts can provide opportunities for obtaining support for coping with cancer. The qualitative literature examining cancer survivors' experience with SS in and for PA could inform understanding of behaviors experienced as supportive. The purpose of this meta-study was to synthesize the research on adult cancer survivors' experiences with SS related to PA. METHODS: Following meta-study guidelines, we searched nine databases and retrieved 39 articles describing intervention and observation studies, and extracted, analyzed, and synthesized information addressing SS and PA in cancer survivors. RESULTS: Results emphasized ways that PA contexts facilitate relationships, which are a foundation for obtaining supportive behaviors that enable PA (e.g., providing encouragement and accountability) and assist with coping with cancer (e.g., understanding and talking about cancer). Some themes identified were unique to studies with female breast cancer, advanced cancer, interventions or programs, and that used interviews versus focus groups. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding supportive behaviors could improve PA and coping with cancer in interventions. Future research should focus on identifying supportive behaviors, incorporating theory and methods to address the development of supportive relationships, and recruiting more diverse samples of participants in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and cancer type. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: PA can provide opportunities for positive social connections ranging from loose to close social ties, and this research identifies several behaviors in the PA context that may be supportive of PA behavior (e.g., providing actionable information), and coping with cancer (e.g., opportunities but low obligation to talk about cancer).

Associations between participation in a Physical Activity-Based Positive Youth Development Program and Academic Outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Physical activity-based positive youth development (PYD) programs offer asset building experiences to foster the overall well-being of youth. These programs have the potential to enhance success in other important contexts for children, such as school. However, rigorous examination of this potential impact is needed. METHODS: Propensity score matching was used to compare school outcomes among children who participated in a short, summer physical activity-based PYD program in the USA and children who were from similar backgrounds and from the same school district but did not attend the program. The sample included 149 pairs of students aged 7-12 years (M = 10.11, SD = 1.26) and, in each group, 62% were from ethnically diverse backgrounds, 38% were from primarily Caucasian backgrounds, and 80 were female and 69 were male, and birth years were equally distributed. Ordinal and logistic regression models were used to test for differences between standardized math and language arts test scores, excused and unexcused absences, and total suspensions and expulsions between the two groups. RESULTS: PYD program youth had 55% and 46% greater odds being in the highest math (χ2(1, N = 298) = 4.06, p = .04) and total days attended categories (χ2(1, N = 298) = 5.58, p = .02) respectively. No other significant differences were found. When using a more rigorous quasi-experimental and longitudinal design, participation in a PYD program predicted some but not all academic performance and behaviors. PYD programs may need to be designed to specifically nurture academic skills to consistently impact academic outcomes.