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Cancer-related disability is a complex problem for older breast cancer survivors. One aspect of cancer-related disability is a survivor's inability to complete meaningful daily activities and engage in life roles, referred to as activity limitations and participation restrictions respectively. There is a limited understanding of how interventions influence activity limitations and participation restrictions in this population. A scoping review was undertaken to identify and characterize nonpharmacological interventions developed to address activity limitations and participation restrictions. A systematic search of electronic databases (Ovid Medline, Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, and Ovid PsycINFO) was conducted in April 2020 and updated October 2020. Eleven studies met inclusion criteria. Most frequently observed delivery features were in-person and one-on-one format. Six interventions incorporated telehealth delivery components. Interventions were often complex and varied in content. Exercise and behavioral strategies were among the most frequently used active ingredients. Activity limitations and participation restrictions were often secondary outcomes, and measures of these outcomes were varied in content and assessment method. Study samples were not representative of the current population of older adult breast cancer survivors. Future intervention research should clarify intervention delivery, content, and dose, prioritize comprehensive measurement of activity limitations and participation restrictions, as well as recruit and involve representative study samples to enhance generalizability of findings.

Objectives: This study longitudinally examined how older adult cancer survivors perceive disability in activities of daily living over time compared to older adults who have not had cancer. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the National Health and Aging Trends Study examining participants with a new cancer diagnosis and age-, gender-, and comorbidity-matched comparison participants without a history of cancer. Generalized linear mixed models examined time and group interaction and main effects in disability. Results: There was a significant main effect of time ( F 4,771 = 12.81; p < .0001) demonstrating increasing disability levels for both groups. There were significant group differences, with higher disability in the cancer group than the comparison group (β = 0.628, SE = 0.263; t = 2.39, p = 0.017). Discussion: Although perceived disability was greater immediately following cancer diagnosis, older adult cancer survivors and comparison participants appear to have similar perceived disability over time.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the magnitude of work-related disability in post-menopausal women with breast cancer compared to healthy controls. It also examined demographic and clinical correlates of work-related disability in post-menopausal women with breast cancer. STUDY DESIGN: Exploratory secondary analysis of longitudinal study. OUTCOME MEASURE: The Work Limitations Questionnaire measured the percentage of at-work productivity loss. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a significant group by time interaction effect (F(1,40)=4.705, p=.036, partial η(2)=.105) on work-related disability. Participants with breast cancer (M=2.364, SE=.374) had significantly higher percentage of at-work productivity loss compared to the healthy control group (M=1.263, SE=.392). At baseline, cognitive-emotional symptoms were moderately to strongly associated with work-related disability. At 6 months, physical symptoms were moderately associated with work-related disability. CONCLUSIONS: Newly, diagnosed women with breast cancer are likely to experience higher rates of work-related disability compared to health counterparts. Healthcare providers should provide intervention to parallel the shift in symptoms which lead to higher work-related disability and job cessation