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Engagement of young adult cancer survivors within a Facebook-based physical activity intervention

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Few studies have examined how young adult cancer survivors use online social media. The objective of this study was to characterize Facebook engagement by young adult cancer survivors in the context of a physical activity (PA) intervention program. Young adult cancer survivors participated in one of two Facebook groups as part of a 12-week randomized trial of a PA intervention (FITNET) compared to a self-help comparison (SC) condition. A moderator actively prompted group discussions in the FITNET Facebook group, while social interaction was unprompted in the SC group. We examined factors related to engagement, differences in engagement by group format and types of Facebook posts, and the relationship between Facebook engagement and PA outcomes. There were no group differences in the number of Facebook comments posted over 12 weeks (FITNET, 153 vs. SC, 188 p = 0.85) or the proportion of participants that reported engaging within Facebook group discussions at least 1–2 days/week. The proportion of participants that made any posts decreased over time in both groups. SC participants were more likely than FITNET participants to agree that group discussions caused them to become physically active (p = 0.040) and that group members were supportive (p = 0.028). Participant-initiated posts elicited significantly more comments and likes than moderator-initiated posts. Responses posted on Facebook were significantly associated with light PA at 12 weeks (β = 11.77, t(85) = 1.996, p = 0.049) across groups. Engagement within Facebook groups was variable and may be associated with PA among young adult cancer survivors. Future research should explore how to promote sustained engagement in online social networks. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01349153

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the staff and students of the UNC Weight Research Program for their valuable support, including Candice Alick, Loneke Blackman, and Rachel K. Bordogna, who provided excellent research assistance. We are also most grateful to the young adult cancer survivors who participated in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Carmina G. Valle PhD, MPH & Deborah F. Tate PhD

  2. Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Deborah F. Tate PhD

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  1. Carmina G. Valle PhD, MPH
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  2. Deborah F. Tate PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carmina G. Valle PhD, MPH.

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Disclosure

A portion of the findings in this manuscript was previously reported during conference presentations at the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2013 Annual Meeting, the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions 2013 Scientific Meeting, and the 2014 Biennial Cancer Survivorship Research Conference.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Statement on the welfare of animals

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Funding

This study was supported by a 2011 Society of Behavioral Medicine Distinguished Student Award for Excellence in Research, the UNC Lineberger Cancer Control Education Program (National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute funded; R25 CA057726), and the UNC Communications for Health Applications and Interventions Core (funded through the Gillings School of Global Public Health Nutrition Obesity Research Center (National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases funded; P30 DK56350) and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute funded; P30 CA16086)).

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Implications

Practice: Participant-initiated posts by cancer survivors may prompt more engagement than moderator-initiated posts and could assist with promoting physical activity in the context of a social media-based intervention for young adult cancer survivors.

Policy: Given the widespread use of social networking sites, a better understanding of how cancer survivors use and benefit from existing online social networks is needed to develop effective public health programs with potential for wider dissemination.

Research: Research is needed to examine how cancer survivors engage within social networking sites and to capitalize on common experiences in ways that facilitate improvements in health behavior change.

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Valle, C.G., Tate, D.F. Engagement of young adult cancer survivors within a Facebook-based physical activity intervention. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 7, 667–679 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-017-0483-3

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