Oncology care providers’ awareness and practice related to physical activity promotion for breast cancer survivors and barriers and facilitators to such promotion: a nationwide cross-sectional web-based survey

PURPOSE: A known barrier to getting breast cancer survivors (BCSs) to engage in habitual exercise is a lack of information on recommended physical activity levels provided to them by oncology care providers (OCPs). However, the actual situation in Japan remains unclear. This study sought to clarify OCPs’ awareness and practice related to Japan’s physical activity recommendation for BCSs and to ascertain barriers to routine information provision. METHODS: We conducted a web-based survey involving members of the Japanese Breast Cancer Society (JBCS) and the Japanese Association of Cancer Rehabilitation between Dec. 2018 and Feb. 2019. RESULTS: Of 10,830 members, 1,029 (9.5%) responded. Only 19.1% were aware of the details of the JBCS physical activity recommendation, and only 21.2% routinely provided physical activity information to BCSs. Factors related to being aware of the recommendation details were 1) availability of the guidelines, 2) experience reading relevant parts of the guidelines, and 3) involvement in multidisciplinary team case meetings. Barriers to routine information provision were 1) absence of perceived work responsibility, 2) underestimation of survivors’ needs, 3) lack of resources, 4) lack of self-efficacy about the recommendation, and 5) poor knowledge of the recommendation. CONCLUSIONS: Only one fifth of the OCPs routinely provided physical activity information. Barriers to provision were poor awareness, self-efficacy, and attitudes and unavailable resources. The physical activity recommendation needs to be disseminated to all OCPs and an information delivery system needs to be established for BCSs to receive appropriate information and support to promote their engagement in habitual physical activity. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-021-06706-8.