Social support and physical activity for cancer survivors: a qualitative review and meta-study

Physical activity (PA) is important for well-being and coping among cancer survivors. Social support (SS) encourages adoption and maintenance of PA behavior, and PA contexts can provide opportunities for obtaining support for coping with cancer. The qualitative literature examining cancer survivors' experience with SS in and for PA could inform understanding of behaviors experienced as supportive. The purpose of this meta-study was to synthesize the research on adult cancer survivors' experiences with SS related to PA.

Following meta-study guidelines, we searched nine databases and retrieved 39 articles describing intervention and observation studies, and extracted, analyzed, and synthesized information addressing SS and PA in cancer survivors.

Results emphasized ways that PA contexts facilitate relationships, which are a foundation for obtaining supportive behaviors that enable PA (e.g., providing encouragement and accountability) and assist with coping with cancer (e.g., understanding and talking about cancer). Some themes identified were unique to studies with female breast cancer, advanced cancer, interventions or programs, and that used interviews versus focus groups.

Understanding supportive behaviors could improve PA and coping with cancer in interventions. Future research should focus on identifying supportive behaviors, incorporating theory and methods to address the development of supportive relationships, and recruiting more diverse samples of participants in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, and cancer type.

PA can provide opportunities for positive social connections ranging from loose to close social ties, and this research identifies several behaviors in the PA context that may be supportive of PA behavior (e.g., providing actionable information), and coping with cancer (e.g., opportunities but low obligation to talk about cancer).