The College of Education and Human Development’s (CEHD) Office of Research and Policy has awarded Zan Gao, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, with the CEHD Research Acceleration Program Developmental Grant Award of $200,000. The grant was awarded to Gao’s project titled “Implementing Personalized Exercise Prescriptions through Mobile Health in Rural Elderly Cancer Survivors.” The award period begins on February 1, 2021 and ends on January 31, 2023. 

The purpose of Gao’s proposed project is to examine the effects of combination of a smartwatch and a Facebook health education intervention on cancer survivors’ physical activity and other health outcomes through personalized exercise prescriptions, as compared to other three conditions.

Past research has shown that physical activity provides many health benefits after a cancer diagnosis and plays an important role in reducing all-cause, cancer-related death and cancer events in eldertly cancer survivors. Adopting an active lifestyle may decrease cancer risks, and improve cancer prognosis and subsequent quality of life. However, most cancer survivors did not achieve recommended physical activity levels of 150 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

This study will integrate mobile health approaches, such as smartphone apps, wearable technology, and social media, to promote physical activity and prevent chronic diseases in the rural elderly cancer survivors. The study will randomize cancer survivors from Minnesota into 4 groups for a 6-month intervention period. The primary outcome is physical activity and secondary outcomes include cardiovascular fitness, body composition, quality of life, blood pressure, beliefs, and social support. If successful, it can significantly impact the development of novel programs for cancer survivors, particularly during and after the pandemic.