Table 3 Reported barriers, facilitators, and benefits of My Body physical activity program
Intrapersonal | Interpersonal | Community | Exemplar quotes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Barriers to engage inMy Bodyphysical activity program | Time management: restricted according to medical appointments | Limited social support (family, employers) | Socioeconomic status given the personal competing priorities to invest money and time | “I say, what more to do than clean the house, sweep, do laundry, go get the kids, the grandkids from school, come back…what more exercise than what I already do.” |
Limited self-efficacy: not feeling able to dance | Intrahousehold gender disparities to distribute care and home tasks | Lack of physical activity programs offered within the health care system | ||
Fears and risk perceptions from family and some healthcare professionals | ||||
Facilitators to engage inMy Bodyphysical activity program | Personal enjoyment through dancing | Group-based physical activity practice enhancing social support represented in program companions (friends, family) | Motivated knowledgeable staff trained to address breast cancer related issues and physical activity | “I’d think: the cancer, 20 rounds of chemo, 10 rounds of radiotherapies, how would I be able to even lift a finger? Then when I saw myself in this program I thought ‘no way, this is great’. Knowing that not everything is bad, that after all what cancer put me through, I was able to dance again” |
Positive beliefs regarding physical activity | Guided physical activity changing risk perceptions and strengthening motivation | Interdisciplinary team (sports physicians, psychologists, respiratory therapists) providing safety, respect, and affection | ||
The resilience process associated to the disease | Peer care network (emotional support and role modelling) | Location of the sessions was accessible by public transportation | ||
Perceived benefits from engaging inMy Bodyphysical activity program | Increased energy (vitality) and endurance to perform daily tasks | “This program truly helps and should be growing even more. I don’t know where to go, if I should go to where I got treatment, to the chemo room and tell them ‘look, there’s a program for this, to help us with our self-esteem because it goes so low’. I’d love to spread the word because I suffered a lot and I don’t want others to go through what I went through. On the contrary, I want to walk into those chemo rooms where people are pitying themselves and tell them, ‘no, we’re going to get through this and get healthy and pretty’.” | ||
Decreased pain and recovery of movement for the arms, knees, hips, and feet | ||||
Improvements in flexibility, joint mobility, coordination, and agility | ||||
Improvements in the sleep cycle |