Beliefs about Physical Activity in Sedentary Cancer Patients: an In-depth Interview Study in France

Charlene Falzon,Laura Schuft,Marion Ganga,Christophe Brizzi,Fabienne D'Arripe-Longueville,Aina Chalabaev

doi:10.7314/apjcp.2012.13.12.6033

Abstract

This study was designed to identify beliefs about physical activity in cancer patients. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with 20 patients under treatment, who were invited to identify perceived barriers for not adopting a physically active lifestyle and to express their beliefs about physical activity. Content analyses revealed five main categories of beliefs including four types of barriers: (a) barriers related to the side effects of treatment; (b) barriers related to a lack of perceived physical abilities; (c) barriers related to a lack of interest for physical activity; (d) beliefs about the negative effects of physical activity, and (e) beliefs about the positive effects of physical activity. These findings extend the existing literature by indicating how stereotypes may play a role in explaining sedentary lifestyles in cancer patients.

Highlights

The role of physical activity (PA) in cancer prevention has been extensively studied and reviewed (Courneya and Friedenreich, 2011)
The results allowed us to elucidate five belief categories, the first four of which could be considered physical or psychological barriers to physical activity: (a) barriers concerning the side effects of treatments, (b) barriers concerning a perceived lack of physical capability, (c) barriers concerning a lack of interest for physical activity, (d) beliefs concerning negative effects of physical activity on the disease, and (e) beliefs related to positive effects of physical activity on the disease
Qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with female and male sedentary patients allowed to highlight five categories of beliefs. Four of these categories appeared as physical and/or psychological barriers to engage in physical activity, and one category concerned beliefs about positive effects of physical activity, which could be seen as facilitators

Summary

Introduction

The role of physical activity (PA) in cancer prevention has been extensively studied and reviewed (Courneya and Friedenreich, 2011). Research into PA and cancer is a much more recent phenomenon that addresses various health benefits during and after the treatment phases (Courneya and Friedenreich, 2011). Several meta analyses and literature reviews have reported that adapted PA could enhance quality of life and physical functioning, help manage secondary effects of treatment (e.g. fatigue, lymphodemia, fat gain, bone loss), and reduce likelihood of developing other chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes (Schmitz et al, 2005; Cramp and Daniel, 2008; Courneya and Friedenreich, 2011). Cancer survivors’ motivation and behavioral change relative to PA remain a challenging research area (Pinto et al, 2000; Pinto and Ciccolo, 2011). Among the many theoretical models that have helped identify key determinants in informing interventions for behavioral change

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