Survivorship: Exercise Behaviors in Latina Survivors
Do encouraging, personalized messages, received on a regular basis, inspire women to exercise after they’ve been treated for breast cancer? To find out, IHPR researcher Dr. Daniel Carlos Hughes, in collaboration with Dr. Ramirez and based on results from his earlier study, is testing the hypothesis that a culturally tailored, Social Cognitive Theory-based exercise intervention will result in greater adherence to exercise behavior in Mexican-American breast cancer survivors vs. control (N=60) in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley. The study requires two visits to the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Regional Academic Health Center campus in Harlingen to answer questionnaires, do a complete physical fitness assessment and develop each woman’s individualized comprehensive exercise program. Based on the answers, each woman also receives a personalized newsletter geared just for her. Results will be used to develop a large-scale randomized controlled trial to test a community-based intervention involving Latinas.