Antecedents and mediators of physical activity in endometrial cancer survivors: Increasing physical activity through steps to health

Objective: Research has shown that physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on cancer survivors, including improving quality of life, improving physical fitness, and decreasing risk for cancer recurrence in some cancer types. Theory-based intervention approaches have identified self-efficacy as a potential mediator of PA intervention. This study examines the temporal relationships at 4 time points (T1-T4) between several social- cognitive theory constructs and PA among a group of endometrial cancer survivors receiving PA intervention. Method: A sample of 98 sedentary women who were at least 6 months posttreatment for endometrial cancer were given interventions to increase their PA. We tested whether modeling, physiological somatic sensations, and social support at previous time points predicted self-efficacy at later time points, which in turn would predict PA at later time points. Results: Results indicated that, as physiological somatic sensations at T2 decreased, self-efficacy at T3 increased, which led to an increase in PA at T4. This suggests that self-efficacy is a significant mediator between physiological somatic sensations and PA. Exploratory follow-up models suggest that model fit can be improved with the addition of contemporaneous effects between self-efficacy and PA at T3 and T4, changing the timing of the mediational relationships. Conclusion: Physiological somatic sensations appear to be an important construct to target to increase PA in this population. Self-efficacy appeared to mediate the relationship between physiological somatic sensations and PA, but the timing of this relationship requires further study.