Peer Support Physical Activity Interventions Partnering Unknown Survivors of Cancer: A Scoping Review

Background: Social support is known to facilitate exercise among individuals with cancer; however, this support usually comes from a known source. The use of peer support, from an unknown peer, may facilitate exercise in survivors; however, this has not been well explored in the literature. Purpose: To examine the literature regarding the use, parameters, matching characteristics, and effectiveness of peer support physical activity interventions partnering unknown peers for individuals living beyond a cancer diagnosis. Methods: Six databases were searched for relevant reports up to December 17, 2021. Title/abstract screening, full-text review, and data extraction were completed in duplicate. Data were extracted for information on population, intervention and partner matching characteristics, and study outcomes. A qualitative synthesis was used to summarize findings and descriptive statistics were used to summarize applicable results. Results: Twelve reports were included in this review, describing 6 unique partner-based peer support physical activity interventions. Most interventions (83%) incorporated peers using a mentor/mentee relationship, where one peer acted as a topic “expert,” assisting the other peer around physical activity. All peers were “unknown” prior to the intervention and all interventions described physical activity level as a primary outcome. All articles including results demonstrated that peer support interventions led to significantly higher levels of physical activity post-treatment. Discussion: Promoting social support via unknown peers has potential to improve physical activity behavior in individuals living beyond a cancer diagnosis. Further research should examine the most appropriate mode of partner communication and the overall effectiveness of these interventions using social support as a primary outcome.