Lifestyle behaviors and intervention preferences of early-stage lung cancer survivors and their family caregivers
Menée aux Etats-Unis par enquête auprès de 31 patients ayant survécu à un cancer du poumon de stade précoce et auprès de 53 aidants familiaux, cette étude analyse leurs comportements de santé et leurs préférences en matière d'interventions pour promouvoir une activité physique
Purpose : Lung cancer (LC) is a highly prevalent disease with more survivors diagnosed and treated at earlier stages. There is a need to understand psychological and lifestyle behavior needs to design interventions for this population. Furthermore, understanding the needs and role of family caregivers, especially given the risks associated with second-hand smoke, is needed. Methods : Thirty-one early-stage (stages I or IIA) LC survivors of (52% men) and 22 (50% women) caregivers (N = 53 total) completed surveys after surgery (baseline) and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Participants reported on psychological functioning, smoking, and physical activity (PA) as well as intervention preferences. Results : Survivors reported low levels of psychological distress and 3% were current smokers during the study. Approximately 79% were sedentary and not meeting national PA guidelines. Caregivers also reported minimal psychological distress and were sedentary (62% not meeting guidelines), but a larger proportion continued to smoke following the survivor’s cancer diagnosis (14%). Both survivors and caregivers expressed interest in home-based PA interventions but differed regarding preferred format for delivery. Most (64%) caregivers preferred a dyadic format, where survivors and caregivers participate in the intervention together. However, most survivors preferred an individual or group format (57%) for intervention delivery. Conclusion : Both LC survivors and family caregivers could benefit from PA interventions, and flexible, dyadic interventions could additionally support smoking cessation for family caregivers.