Attitudes and Experiences of Men With Prostate Cancer on Risk in the Context of Injuries Related to Community-Based Football-A Qualitative Study.

Mette Rørth,John L Oliffe,Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen,Julie Midtgaard,Prue Cormie

doi:10.1123/japa.2018-0089

Abstract

Although football training may be a potent strategy for health promotion in older men, the considerable risk of injuries may constitute a barrier for referral of clinical populations. The current study explored the attitudes of men with prostate cancer on risk in the context of injuries related to participating in a community-based football program. Four videotaped focus group interviews and three individual in-depth telephone interviews were carried out with men with prostate cancer (n = 35; mean age = 68.8). The thematic networks technique was used to derive the global theme Injury-induced reinforced masculinity comprising five subthemes: "part of the game," "a good story to tell," "like boys again," "an old, carefree body," and "camaraderie." Collectively, these themes explained how football injuries may reflect masculine ideals in some men with prostate cancer. The study indicates that injuries are largely acceptable to men with prostate cancer, especially those in search of a means for expressing their masculinity.

Highlights

Existing evidence suggests that men with prostate cancer benefit from physical activity and exercise, in terms of both mental health, alleviation of treatment-related side effects, and reduction of prostate cancer mortality (Cormie, Zopf, Zhang, & Schmitz, 2017; Shephard, 2016)
A Phase II trial preceding the current study documented that football had a positive impact on the physical and mental well-being of men with prostate cancer and promoted the maintenance of physical activity
The current study introduces the global theme Injury-induced reinforced masculinity comprising five subordinate organizing themes: (a) “Part of the game,” (b) “A good story to tell,” (c) “Like boys again,” (d) “An old, carefree body,” and (e) “Camaraderie.” Collectively, these themes explain how the risk of injury may affirm masculinity in men with prostate cancer participating in a community-based football program

Summary

Introduction

Existing evidence suggests that men with prostate cancer benefit from physical activity and exercise, in terms of both mental health, alleviation of treatment-related side effects, and reduction of prostate cancer mortality (Cormie, Zopf, Zhang, & Schmitz, 2017; Shephard, 2016). Men are confronted with various challenges in losing their purchase on the masculine capital associated with being young, employed, and in a (hetero) sexual relationship (Connell, 1995; Spector-Mersel, 2006; van den Hoonaard, 2009) Cognizant of this background, initiatives that reinforce some masculine ideals such as engaging with sports and other action-oriented activities may be central to men’s prostate cancer rehabilitation (Bruun et al, 2014; Cormie et al, 2016; Handberg, Lomborg, Nielsen, Oliffe, & Midtgaard, 2015). Three adverse events classified as serious injuries occurred in participants during the Phase II trial (Uth, Hornstrup, Christensen, Christensen, Jorgensen, Schmidt, et al, 2016) This automatically raised concerns in the research team regarding acceptability and safety, including how to promote and demonstrate benefit over risk for program participants

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion