Feasibility and acceptability of a remote physical activity intervention coupled with short text messages in women with breast cancer and severe depressive or anxiety symptoms

Purpose. To test the feasibility and acceptability of a remote physical activity (PA) intervention coupled with motivational text messages among women experiencing severe depressive and/or anxiety symptoms during or after breast cancer (BC) treatment. Methods and materials. A three-phase-single-case experimental study design (16-week) was conducted among 18 women diagnosed with BC reporting high levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Our intervention included behaviour change techniques (BCTs) and 2 to 3 supervised PA sessions per week, for at least 30 minutes, coupled with 4 to 7 weekly personalized text messages. Feasibility (satisfaction and drop-out rates), acceptability (participation rates, therapeutic alliance, and qualitative data), fidelity (quality of BCTs delivered), and the efficacy on PA level and physical fitness were assessed. Results. Participants expressed high satisfaction and reported an excellent working alliance with their kinesiologist. Notably, there was a very high participation rate (90%) along with a low dropout rate (11%). However, only 3 patients significantly increased their PA post-intervention. Conclusion. This study highlighted the importance to personalize remote PA interventions for women with BC and severe depressive or anxiety symptoms. The combination of a remote PA intervention with daily text messages appears to be very suitable to increase their adherence.