TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceptions of barriers and facilitators to health behavior change among veteran cancer survivors
AU - Beehler, Gregory P.
AU - Rodrigues, Amy E.
AU - Kay, Morgan A.
AU - Kiviniemi, Marc T.
AU - Steinbrenner, Lynn
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Objective: This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to health behavior change related to body size in a sample of veteran cancer survivors. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with a sample of 35 male and female cancer survivors receiving care at a Veterans Administration comprehensive cancer center. Participants completed individual interviews regarding barriers and facilitators to lifestyle change and responded to a brief questionnaire regarding current health behaviors. Results: Participants reported suboptimal adherence to recommended health behavior goals and the majority were overweight or obese (80%). Qualitative analysis revealed numerous barriers and facilitators to health behavior change across six broad categories: environmental factors, health services delivery factors, health-related factors, factors related to attitudes toward change, factors related to enacting change, and motivational factors. Veteran cancer survivors were impacted by common barriers to change affecting the general population, cancer-specific factors related to personal diagnosis and treatment history, and health service delivery factors related to the Veterans Administration health care system. Conclusions: There are many barriers and facilitators that exist in diverse domains for veteran cancer survivors, each of which offers unique challenges and opportunities for improving engagement in behavior change following cancer diagnosis and treatment.
AB - Objective: This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to health behavior change related to body size in a sample of veteran cancer survivors. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with a sample of 35 male and female cancer survivors receiving care at a Veterans Administration comprehensive cancer center. Participants completed individual interviews regarding barriers and facilitators to lifestyle change and responded to a brief questionnaire regarding current health behaviors. Results: Participants reported suboptimal adherence to recommended health behavior goals and the majority were overweight or obese (80%). Qualitative analysis revealed numerous barriers and facilitators to health behavior change across six broad categories: environmental factors, health services delivery factors, health-related factors, factors related to attitudes toward change, factors related to enacting change, and motivational factors. Veteran cancer survivors were impacted by common barriers to change affecting the general population, cancer-specific factors related to personal diagnosis and treatment history, and health service delivery factors related to the Veterans Administration health care system. Conclusions: There are many barriers and facilitators that exist in diverse domains for veteran cancer survivors, each of which offers unique challenges and opportunities for improving engagement in behavior change following cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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U2 - 10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00027
DO - 10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00027
M3 - Article
C2 - 25181718
AN - SCOPUS:84928474152
SN - 0026-4075
VL - 179
SP - 998
EP - 1005
JO - Military Medicine
JF - Military Medicine
IS - 9
ER -
