Principal Results
cancer, mental distress, breast cancer
CANCER, BREAST CANCER
This trial assessed the effect of app-based mobile community engagement on the mental health and physical activity of breast cancer survivors. Mobile community engagement led to a significantly lower level of moderate to severe mental distress and a higher level of physical activity, as evidenced by weekly step counts, for the 24-week study period. In the final 4 weeks, these effects remained significant in terms of increased physical activity and exhibited a trend toward lower levels of distress.To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first randomized, controlled investigation into the impact of participating in a peer community through mobile devices on the behaviors and distress levels of cancer survivors. Extensive research has been conducted to explore approaches for alleviating distress in this population, given their heightened susceptibility to psychological challenges. A meta-review of randomized controlled trials focusing on health interventions revealed a notable reduction in distress levels [Several studies have investigated the effect of electronic health technology on managing distress in cancer survivors, most of which involved web-based interventions. One randomized controlled study that included 129 cancer survivors reported that a web-based stress management program was effective in improving their quality of life [A systematic review has indicated that mobile app–based health interventions have the potential to encourage positive behaviors, such as physical activity and weight management, among the general population [In this study, mobile community engagement led to significantly lower levels of distress during the total study period of 24 weeks. However, during the past 4 weeks, the reduction in moderate to severe distress through mobile community engagement fell short of having statistical significance (The beneficial effect of mobile community engagement on mental distress and physical activity can be explained by several theories [