Sonya S. Lowe MD, MSc, Sharon M. Watanabe, MD, Vickie E. Baracos, PhD, Kerry S. Courneya PhD
Received 23 March 2011; Accepted 29 July 2011. Available online 12 October 2011.
Background
Increasing evidence points to the theory of planned behavior as a useful framework to understand physical activity behavior in cancer patients.
Objective
Our primary aim was to examine the demographic, medical, and social–cognitive correlates of physical activity in palliative cancer patients.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was administered to advanced cancer patients aged 18 years or older with a clinician-estimated life expectancy of less than 12 months and Palliative Performance Scale >30%, from outpatient palliative care, oncology clinics, and palliative home care.
Results
Fifty participants were recruited. Correlates of total physical activity levels were affective attitude (r = 0.36, P = 0.011), self-efficacy (r = 0.36, P = 0.010), and intention (r = 0.30, P = 0.034). Participants who reported 60 minutes or more of total physical activity daily reported significantly higher affective attitude (M = 0.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.26–1.6, P = 0.008) and self-efficacy (M = 0.8, 95% CI 0.0–1.5, P = 0.046). Participants <60 years of age (M = 343, 95% CI −7 to 693, P = 0.054) and who were normal or underweight (M = 333, 95% CI −14 to 680, P = 0.059) reported higher weekly minutes of total physical activity.
Limitations
Our small sample may not be representative of the total palliative cancer population.
Conclusions
Affective attitude, self-efficacy, and intention were the strongest correlates of total physical activity levels, and younger and normal/underweight participants did more physical activity.
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