Effects of Targeted Versus Generic Print Materials on Physical Activity and Quality of Life in Young Adult Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Control Trial

Young adult cancer survivors (YACS) are an understudied group in cancer survivorship research that have unique psychosocial, medical and survivorship issues. Physical activity (PA) has important effects on health-related outcomes in middle-aged and older cancer survivors and preliminary research suggests similar benefits in YACS (18-39 years). Unfortunately, only about half of YACS report meeting public health PA guidelines and there are no interventions or resources available to help YACS increase their PA. The purpose of this study is to test a physical activity guidebook that was developed for YACS based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The PA guidebook will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. Specifically, 300 YACS will be randomly assigned to (a) Canada's PA guidelines for adults or (b) the YACS PA guidebook. YACS will complete assessments of PA, quality of life, and psychosocial variables at baseline (prior to randomization), 1 month, and 3 months. The primary endpoint in the trial will be change in self-reported PA minutes from baseline to 3 months. Secondary endpoints will include changes in TPB constructs and quality of life. It is hypothesized that the group receiving the YACS PA guidebook (TARG) will report a greater increase in PA minutes compared to the group receiving Canada's PA guidelines (CPAG).