Life (Feb 2023)

Assessing the Suitability of a Virtual ‘Pink Warrior’ for Older Breast Cancer Survivors during COVID-19: A Pilot Study

  • Maria C. Swartz,
  • Michael C. Robertson,
  • Ursela Christopherson,
  • Stephanie J. Wells,
  • Zakkoyya H. Lewis,
  • Jinbing Bai,
  • Michael D. Swartz,
  • H. Colleen Silva,
  • Eloisa Martinez,
  • Elizabeth J. Lyons

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020574
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 2
p. 574

Abstract

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The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the conduct of in-person physical activity (PA) interventions among older survivors of BC, who need such interventions to stay active and prevent functional decline. We tested the feasibility of virtually delivering an exergame-based PA intervention to older BC survivors. We enrolled 20 female BC survivors ≥55 years and randomly assigned them to two groups. The intervention group (Pink Warrior 2) received 12 weekly virtual exergame sessions with behavioral coaching, survivorship navigation support, and a Fitbit for self-monitoring. The control group received 12 weekly phone-based survivorship discussion sessions and wore a Mi Band 3. Feasibility was evaluated by rates of recruitment (≥0.92 participants/center/month), retention (≥80%), and group attendance (≥10 sessions), percentage of completed virtual assessments, and number of technology-related issues and adverse events. Intervention acceptability was measured by participants’ ratings on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The recruitment rate was 1.93. The retention and attendance rates were 90% and 88% (≥10 sessions), respectively. Ninety-six percent completed virtual assessments without an adverse event. Acceptability was high (≥4). The intervention met benchmarks for feasibility. Additional research is needed to further understand the impact of virtually delivered PA interventions on older BC survivors.

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