Recorded presentation

Lorna Finnegan, PhD, APN, College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 South Damen, MC 802, Chicago, IL 60612, 312-996-1668, lornaf@uic.edu

The goal of this program of research is to develop and test tailored, computerized health promotion interventions focused on lifestyle behaviors in young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Young adult survivors are at risk for late effects of their cancer treatments that may accelerate the development and progression of diseases associated with aging, such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and second cancers. Some late effects could be ameliorated by increased physical activity.

The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional pilot study is to examine the feasibility of using pedometers and physical activity (PA) logs to measure a seven-day period of physical activity in 50 young adults who are survivors of childhood cancer. The specific aims are threefold: determine acceptability and completeness of PA log and pedometer data; describe daily patterns and types of physical activities; and examine the relationships between pedometer step counts and self-reported minutes spent in daily physical activities.

Young adult survivors will be recruited through cancer-related web sites, listservs, chat rooms, and a project web site. Recruitment flyers will also be posted in long-term survivor clinics. Participants will wear New Lifestyles-NL 2000 pedometers, record daily physical activities using web-based PA logs, and respond to questions regarding acceptability of the web-based surveys, PA logs, and pedometers. After completing the study, participants will keep the pedometers for personal use. The results will be used to refine the instruments and survey methodology for subsequent intervention studies, which will test the effectiveness of a computerized, tailored physical activity program.

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