Journal: Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.)
Study type
- Cross-sectional survey of 518 post-treatment adult cancer survivors in a large healthcare system.
Population
- Mean age: 56.5 years
- Female: 54.6%
Objectives
- Describe ownership/use of smartphones, wearable activity trackers, and lifestyle apps.
- Assess willingness to share wearable data with healthcare providers.
- Identify demographic and health-related factors associated with:
- Meeting physical activity (PA) guidelines (≥150 min/week MVPA)
- Activity tracker ownership
- Lifestyle app use
- Willingness to share wearable data
Key findings
- Technology penetration:
- 97.5% owned a smartphone.
- 52.9% owned a wearable activity tracker.
- 32.4% used a lifestyle app.
- Data sharing:
- 64.3% were willing to share wearable data with healthcare providers.
Correlates of mHealth use
- Activity tracker ownership was more likely among:
- Survivors with a college degree.
- Higher-income individuals.
- Those meeting PA guidelines.
- Those with obesity.
- Lifestyle app use was more likely among:
- Younger survivors (<65 years).
- Those employed full-time.
- Those with college education, higher income, meeting PA guidelines, and obesity (same pattern as tracker ownership).
- Willingness to share data:
- Significantly higher among those employed full-time.
- No other demographic or disease-related factors showed significant associations.
Implications for practice
- Feasibility: Most survivors have smartphones and a substantial proportion already use wearables or lifestyle apps, indicating practical feasibility for mHealth-based PA interventions.
- Equity concerns: Adoption skews toward younger, more educated, higher-income, and more active survivors, suggesting potential inequities if mHealth is the primary strategy.
- Data sharing processes: Willingness to share data is generally high but not strongly patterned by clinical or demographic factors, underscoring the need for systematic processes and clear communication rather than targeting based solely on disease characteristics.
Overall conclusion
- Cancer survivors widely own smartphones and many use or are interested in mHealth tools, but adoption varies by socioeconomic and lifestyle factors.
- Targeted, inclusive implementation strategies are needed to ensure mHealth integration into survivorship care does not exacerbate disparities and can effectively support long-term physical activity and outcomes.