Background: Childhood cancer survivors (CCSs) are at increased risk of chronic health conditions, which could be controlled with health behaviors. However, the health behaviors and related factors of Chinese CCSs remain unclear.
Objective: The aims of this study were to examine multiple health behaviors among Chinese CCSs and explore the individual, interpersonal, and home environmental factors affecting health behaviors.
Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 204 participants from 3 grade-A tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou, China. Participants provided data on health behaviors (smoking, drinking, drug use, screen time, internet addiction, dietary behaviors, physical activity, and sleep behaviors) and their determining factors. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.
Results: Chinese CCSs reported low rates of smoking, drinking, and drug use (0%-6.4%), but only 51% of survivors met screen time recommendations, and 24.5% of them had Internet addiction. Few survivors reported frequent soft-drink, sugar, and fast-food intake (2.0 to 7.4%), but many were finicky eaters (55.4%) or seldom drank milk (41.7%). In addition, 67.6% and 47.5% of survivors did not meet physical activity and sleep time recommendations. Childhood cancer survivors' health behaviors were influenced by the individual (age, education level, and time since diagnosis), interpersonal (peer and family support), and home environmental (residential location, parents' educations level, and household income) factors.
Conclusions: There were suboptimal health behaviors among Chinese CCSs. Targeted interventions should consider their individual, interpersonal, and home environmental factors.
Implications for practice: Knowledge of health behaviors and related factors of Chinese CCSs would help healthcare professionals develop further interventions to improve their care of this population.
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