Abstract
In the context of sports-based interventions for improving health and quality of life in chronic patients, participants could develop meaningful social relationships that affect their well-being as much as intervention activities. In this study, 80 female cancer survivors participated in a running-based group intervention (2 sessions/week; 1.5 h), while 51 acted as controls. The intervention lasted approximately 5 months. Unfortunately, the length of the intervention was reduced and sport activities were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown mid-intervention, while the shared therapy sessions continued online. This possibly altered the results, as anxiety, depression, and physical aspects did not show significant differences between the experimental and control groups after the intervention. Participants reported positive comments on the experience as a whole, especially regarding the positive influence of the newly developed social connections. This was corroborated by significant correlations between group perceived cohesion and anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, and positive experience with the group psychological support. Overall, it is possible to suggest that in the program an important role was played by social connections and support, peer influence and the group experience, preserving positive experiential qualities of the intervention even if it was altered by external circumstances.
Highlights
The advances in cancer treatment lead to a reduction in the number of deaths related to this disease
Physical activity and sports were reported in the literature as associated with passion and positive emotions in breast cancer survivor (Burke et al, 2012); qualitative studies on the experience of breast cancer survivors within quality of life interventions focused on sports help to understand the meaningful psychological outcomes of these activities, ranging from feeling positively challenged, sense of closure, growth and personal strength, and improving one’s own body image and finding new social support resources (Burke and Sabiston, 2010; Brunet et al, 2013)
Eighty women voluntarily took part in a sports group intervention program to promote quality of life that combined physical exercises with group psychological sessions with psychologists (Mage = 48.70, SDage = 6.25; age range: 31–60), the Pink is Good project. 33% of the women originally involved in the Pink is Good project refused to participate or dropped out, mostly because of cancer recurrence, difficulty in adhering to the intervention activities, or the delay related to the COVID-19 lockdown
Summary
The advances in cancer treatment lead to a reduction in the number of deaths related to this disease. Cancer patients develop notable introspection processes through the discovery of their own abilities and strengths and weaknesses, a knowledge important to build a new sense of Self after the illness experience (Hodge and Lonsdale, 2011) Such abilities can be adapted and transferred in other life domains to increase personal skills, for example in cancer management (Pierce et al, 2018; Sebri et al, 2020). Physical activity and sports were reported in the literature as associated with passion and positive emotions in breast cancer survivor (Burke et al, 2012); qualitative studies on the experience of breast cancer survivors within quality of life interventions focused on sports help to understand the meaningful psychological outcomes of these activities, ranging from feeling positively challenged, sense of closure, growth and personal strength, and improving one’s own body image and finding new social support resources (Burke and Sabiston, 2010; Brunet et al, 2013)
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