Effects of personalized exercise prescriptions and social media delivered through mobile health on cancer survivors’ physical activity and quality of life

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the effects of a multi-component mobile health intervention (wearable, apps, and social media) on cancer survivors’ (CS') physical activity (PA), quality of life, and PA determinants compared to exercise prescription only, social media only, and attention control conditions. METHODS: A total of 126 CS (age = 60.37 ± 7.41 years, mean ± SD) were recruited from the United States. The study duration was 6 months and participants were randomly placed into 4 groups. All participants received a Fitbit tracker and were instructed to install its companion app to monitor their daily PA. They (1) received previously established weekly personalized exercise prescriptions via email, (2) received weekly Facebook health education and interacted with one another, (3) received both Conditions 1 and 2, or (4) were part of the control condition, meaning they adopted usual care. CS PA daily steps, quality of life (i.e., physical health and mental health), and PA determinants (e.g., self-efficacy, social support) were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. RESULTS: The final sample size included 123 CS. The results revealed only the multi-component condition had greater improvements in PA daily steps than the control condition post-intervention (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 368–2951; p < 0.05). Similarly, those in the multi-component condition had significantly greater increased physical health than the control condition (95%CI: –0.41 to –0.01; p < 0.05) over time. In addition, the social media condition had significantly greater increased perceived social support than the control condition (95%CI: 0.01–0.93; p < 0.05). No other significant differences on outcomes were identified. CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that the implementation of a multi-component mobile health intervention had positive effects on CS PA steps and physical health. Also, offering social media intervention has the potential to improve CS perceived social support.