# Promoting Physical Activity in Young Adult Cancer Survivors Using mHealth and Adaptive Tailored Feedback Strategies

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2020 · $453,158

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
There are over half a million young adult cancer survivors (YACS) in the United States. YACS are an
underserved and vulnerable subgroup of survivors that experience increased risk over time for obesity and
chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Increasing physical activity (PA) is a promising
behavioral intervention that has positive effects on physical function, body composition, cardiovascular fitness,
and health-related quality of life. To date, few interventions have been designed specifically to promote PA in
YACS, and none have been successful in promoting long-term adherence to PA guidelines of 150
minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity activity. Effective PA interventions have used self-monitoring
as a behavior change technique to help individuals monitor daily activity, set goals, and enhance motivation. In
our pilot randomized trial of a social cognitive theory-based, Facebook-delivered PA intervention for YACS
(n=86), intervention participants increased self-reported total PA compared with a self-help group (237 vs. 76
minutes/week; p=0.07, d = 0.39), which was driven by differences in light PA (164 minutes/week vs. 29
minutes/week; p=0.03). The emergence of lower-cost and widely available wearable activity trackers
represents a unique opportunity to simplify self-monitoring and deliver more precisely tailored PA interventions
that dynamically adapt goals and messages in response to an individual's changing activity patterns over time
so as to provide more relevant and timely support. Building on the promise shown by our pilot study and
utilizing self-regulation approaches that our team has used to target PA as part of a successful weight gain
prevention intervention in young adults, we aim to bolster intervention effects on PA using activity trackers and
theory-based enhancements. This research proposes a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a
theory-based, mobile PA intervention with adaptive goal-setting and tailored feedback that is aimed at
increasing PA among YACS. YACS (n=280), diagnosed between ages 18-39, will be recruited and randomized
into one of two conditions: 1) activity tracker + Facebook group (Self-help) or 2) activity tracker + Facebook
group + adaptive goal-setting and tailored feedback (Intervention). We plan to enroll YACS in a 6-month
intervention followed by an additional 6 months of tapered contacts to address the following specific aims: 1)
Determine the effects of a theory-based, mobile PA intervention compared with a self-help control group on
changes in total PA. 2) Determine whether changes in social cognitive factors mediated the intervention effects
on PA outcomes. 3) Explore whether intervention effects differed across potential demographic and health-
related moderators. Assessments of objectively-measured PA (using ActiGraph accelerometers) and other
outcomes will be completed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. In the proposed study...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9850090
- **Project number:** 5R01CA204965-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** CARMINA G VALLE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $453,158
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-02-07 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9850090

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9850090, Promoting Physical Activity in Young Adult Cancer Survivors Using mHealth and Adaptive Tailored Feedback Strategies (5R01CA204965-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9850090. Licensed CC0.

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