Preliminary Testing Of A Novel Exercise Instrument For Rural Cancer Survivors

PURPOSE: There are over 172,000 cancer survivors in the state of Iowa, of which 40% are rural. Cancer survivors face latent and long-term treatment side-effects that can impact exercise participation. Rural survivors have lower exercise rates and face greater disease burden and barriers to health care. Current survey tools have limited capacity to assess exercise and health behaviors in rural cancer survivors. Therefore, we aimed to deploy a newly developed survey as a preliminary exploration of participation in and perceived barriers to exercise. METHODS: Recruitment was through the institution’s universal consent. Eligible participants were aged 18-84 years diagnosed with breast, lung, prostate, or colorectal cancer in the last 5 years, and residents in rural counties. Based on content expert specification and end user engagement, we developed a secure web survey to assess physical activity and barriers to exercise during and after cancer treatment. We summarize survey data using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of 100 individuals contacted for the initial round of survey refinement, 33 responded to the survey, of whom 3 did not meet cancer criteria, and 16 reported living in urban areas, thus a total of 14 individuals were included in analysis. Breast cancer was most common (n = 5), followed by prostate (n = 4), colorectal (n = 3), and lung (n = 2). Weekly minutes of light intensity aerobic exercise were highest (177.0 ± 253.6), followed by moderate (110.4 ± 134.0), resistance exercise (21.0 ± 37.6), and vigorous aerobic (10.0 ± 26.6). Overall, for aerobic exercise, 42.9% (n = 6) of individuals met the physical activity guidelines for Americans, and for resistance exercise 7.1% (n = 1). The most common barrier to exercise was physical side effects (n = 4 for both pre- and post-treatment), followed by lack of awareness of available exercise programs (pre-treatment n = 4, post-treatment n = 3), and time (n = 3 for both). CONCLUSION: Preliminary findings reveal predominantly light intensity, low moderate or vigorous aerobic, and resistance exercise levels in rural cancer survivors, with side effects and limited awareness of exercise programs identified as major barriers to exercise participation. Further survey optimization includes improving question specificity and broader deployment to more rural cancer survivors. Supported by: UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center Oberly Pilot Award (PI Gorzelitz)