Peer support for physical activity adoption among breast cancer survivors: Do the helped resemble the helpers?

Interventions offering peer-mentoring programs promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) have shown improvements in MVPA and wellbeing from baseline, however research is limited. The purpose of this study is to compare the physical activity (PA) levels and psychosocial wellbeing of coaches and participants at baseline and following a 12-week intervention. Breast cancer survivors (<5 years) were recruited and randomized into either exercise (Reach-to-Recovery (RTR)+PA) or control (RTR Control). Participants in both groups were individually assigned one of the 18 available coaches who delivered either the MVPA intervention or control condition via telephone. PA (7 Day PA Recall), psychosocial wellbeing, fatigue and mood were assessed at baseline and intervention completion. 76 breast cancer survivors (average age = 55.62 (±9.55)) were randomized. At baseline, all participants showed significantly lower MVPA (p=0.001) and wellbeing (p<0.05) as compared to coaches. However, post intervention showed significant improvement in PA and wellbeing in RTR+PA so that they were no longer significantly different from the coaches. Post intervention, MVPA (p<0.01), quality of life (p<0.05) and fatigue (p<0.05) remained significantly lower in RTR Controls compared to coaches. Future interventions should consider the behavioral patterns not only of the participants, but also those who deliver the interventions.