Negotiating the Cancer Experience through Challenge Course Programming

Authors

  • Bruce Martin Ohio University
  • Diane Groff University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Claudio Battaglini University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Keywords:

adventure experience, challenge course programming, breast cancer, narrative therapy, recreational therapy, adventure therapy, explanatory style

Abstract

 The purpose of this study was to explore the therapeutic value of a challenge course program to the process of breast cancer recovery. Narrative research methods were used to explore how a group of women with breast cancer used a challenge course program to negotiate the meaning of their experiences with breast cancer. The women were enrolled in an integrative exercise and recreation therapy program for women recovering from breast cancer, and the challenge course program served as one component of this program. The meaning of the challenge course experience was framed largely through the series of reflective conversations held by the program participants and facilitators following each group initiative. Consequently, these conversations served as the primary data source for this study, and the researchers used a form of discourse analysis to analyze the data. The researchers identified three primary themes that illustrate the value of the challenge course experience to the participants in the study: Different Journeys, Mutual Support,  and Re-Authoring Selves and Identities. The findings from this study support challenge course programming as an opportunity for participants to engage in the dialogue necessary to help construct personal narratives that are positive and constructive to the recovery process.

Author Biographies

Bruce Martin, Ohio University

Bruce Martin is an associate professor in the Department of Recreation & Sport Pedagogy at Ohio University. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of outdoor leadership, adventure programming, experiential education and ecotourism.

Diane Groff, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Diane Groff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on the impact of an integrated recreation therapy and exercise program on the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of women post cancer treatment.

Claudio Battaglini, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Claudio Battaglini is an Associate Professor of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research focuses on the effects of acute and chronic exercise on physiological, psychological, and physical functioning in cancer patients.

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Published

2014-07-14

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 3 (2014)

Section

Research Papers

License

Sagamore Publishing LLC (hereinafter the “Copyright Owner”)

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