Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Division of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
JMIR Cancer. 2024 Nov 25;10:e57964. doi: 10.2196/57964.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Adult weight gain and modifiable health behaviors, including smoking, alcohol intake, and lack of physical activity, are well-known risk factors. Most weight gain in women occurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years. Digital interventions have the potential to address logistical challenges that arise in reaching women in this age range. We designed a digital intervention targeting weight gain prevention and other modifiable health behaviors for young women at increased risk of breast cancer. Women aged 18 to 35 years were recruited to this single-arm intervention study over 2 months to test the acceptability and usability of the intervention, which comprised a group welcome event held via videoconferencing, app, and private Facebook group.
This nested qualitative substudy explored women's views and experiences of being part of the digital health intervention to inform future intervention development for a feasibility study.
A total of 20 women aged 23 to 35 years who were at increased risk of breast cancer were interviewed via telephone within 1 month after completing the intervention, between February 2023 and March 2023. The women were asked about their experiences of the digital intervention and the extent to which it may have influenced their health behaviors. Data were analyzed thematically and organized using the framework approach.
The interviews lasted for a median of 37 (IQR 30-46) minutes. Overall, the women perceived the digital health intervention comprising education, tracking, and support to be acceptable for weight gain prevention. In total, 4 themes were generated. A "missed opportunity" in breast cancer prevention services encompasses the lack of services that currently exist for young women at increased risk of breast cancer. The pros and cons of being part of a community encompasses the divergent views that the women had regarding engaging with other women at increased risk. The importance of an interactive app focuses on features that the women would want from the app to promote engagement with the intervention. The different wants and needs of different age groups highlights that an intervention such as this one would need to be customizable to suit the needs of women at different life stages.
There is an unmet need in prevention services for young women aged 18 to 35 years at increased risk of breast cancer. The women perceived the app to be an acceptable intervention for weight gain prevention but emphasized that the intervention would need to be customizable to meet the needs of different age groups within the group of women aged 18 to 35 years. The digital intervention could be a scalable behavior change strategy for UK family history clinics.
乳腺癌是女性最常见的癌症类型。成年后体重增加和可改变的健康行为，包括吸烟、饮酒和缺乏身体活动，都是已知的风险因素。大多数女性的体重增加发生在 18 岁至 35 岁之间。数字干预有潜力解决在这个年龄段接触女性时出现的后勤挑战。我们设计了一种针对有乳腺癌高风险的年轻女性的体重增加预防和其他可改变健康行为的数字干预措施。在 2 个月的时间里，招募了年龄在 18 至 35 岁之间的女性参加这项单臂干预研究，以测试干预措施的可接受性和可用性，该措施包括通过视频会议、应用程序和私人 Facebook 群组举行的团体欢迎活动。
这项嵌套的定性子研究探讨了女性参与数字健康干预的观点和经验，以为可行性研究提供未来干预措施的开发信息。
2023 年 2 月至 3 月期间，对 23 至 35 岁、有乳腺癌高风险的 20 名女性进行了电话访谈，她们在完成干预措施后 1 个月内接受了访谈。这些女性被问及她们对数字干预的体验，以及它在多大程度上可能影响了她们的健康行为。数据采用主题分析法进行分析，并使用框架方法进行组织。
访谈平均持续 37 分钟（IQR 30-46）。总的来说，女性认为包括教育、跟踪和支持的数字健康干预措施可用于预防体重增加。总共产生了 4 个主题。乳腺癌预防服务中的“错失机会”涵盖了目前针对有乳腺癌高风险的年轻女性缺乏服务的问题。参与社区的利弊包括女性对与其他有乳腺癌高风险的女性接触的不同看法。应用程序的互动性很重要，强调了女性希望应用程序具备哪些功能来促进对干预措施的参与。不同年龄组的不同需求和需求突显了这样一个干预措施，如这一个，将需要定制，以满足不同生活阶段的女性的需求。
在预防服务方面，有乳腺癌高风险的 18 至 35 岁年轻女性存在未满足的需求。女性认为该应用程序是预防体重增加的可接受干预措施，但强调该干预措施需要能够满足 18 至 35 岁女性群体中不同年龄组的需求。数字干预措施可能是英国家族史诊所的一种可扩展的行为改变策略。
