Table 1.

Characteristics of original studies included in review

Author, year (reference number, companion articles)	Study design, Location	Rural characteristics (definition or classification, % of sample)	Sample characteristics (analytic sample size, target population, descriptives)	Intervention (description, setting, duration, contact number and time)	Physical activity measure (units), Timing of assessments	Summary of findings
Befort, et al., 2012 [36]	Single arm trial Kansas, United States	Three cancer centers located in towns with population size 20,000-47,000 Participants resided in RUCA-defined rural area 100% rural	N=31 Rural postmenopausal breast cancer survivors who had completed treatment 100.0% female 97.0% white 26.0% high school degree or less M age=58.9 years	Group-based weight control intervention including aerobic and strength-training activities delivered via conference call Sessions held once/week for 24 weeks (1440 min)	Minnesota Physical Activity Questionnaire (kcal/week or min/week) 0 and 24 weeks	Physical activity increased by 196.5 min/week over 24 weeks 71% of those who completed the intervention met physical activity goal of 225 min/week
Eakin, et al., 2012 [40, 56]	Randomized controlled trial Queensland, Australia	Participants resided within a postal code considered inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote based on their Australian Standard Geographical Classification 100% rural	N=137a Rural women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and treated at one of 8 regional or 4 large metropolitan hospitals 100% female 53.1% less than high school M age=52.9 years	Exercise for Health-rural (EfH) telephone-delivered mixed (aerobic and resistance) exercise intervention Participants received an exercise workbook and 16 calls over 32 weeks (480 min)	Active Australia Survey (min/week) and CHAMPS questionnaire (strength-training sessions/week) were used to calculate % meeting aerobic (≥4 times/week and ≥180 min of MVPA/week) and resistance training (≥2 sessions/week) goals 0, 24, and 48 weeks	45.6% of EfH participants met their resistance training goal compared to 10.4% of control participants at 24 weeks and 40.3% vs. 17.9% met their goal at 48 weeks No statistically significant between group differences for aerobic activity
Fazzino, et al., 2017 [37, 57–59]	Phase 1: Single arm trial Phase 2: Randomized controlled trial Rural areas of the midwestern United States (Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa)	Participants resided in a rural area defined by RUCA Codes, Urban Influence Codes, amount of agricultural income, and/or individual commuting patterns 100% rural	N=142 Rural postmenopausal breast cancer survivors who had completed treatment 100.0% female 97.0% white 23.0% high school degree or less M age=58.6 years	Phase 1: 6-month weight loss phase where all participants receive group-based phone counseling Sessions held once/week for 26 weeks (1560 min) Phase 2: 12-month maintenance phase where participants are randomized to continued group phone-based or mailed newsletter comparison group Group-based phone counseling sessions held biweekly (1560 min) and newsletters mailed biweekly	GT3X+ Actigraph accelerometer (bouted MVPA min/week) and the Paffenbarger Physical Activity Questionnaire (MVPA min/week) 0, 26, 52, and 78 weeks	Phase 1: Accelerometer-(46.9 min/week) measured and self-reported (227.5 min/week) MVPA increased from 0 to 26 weeks Phase 2: Accelerometer-measured (−27.2 min/week) and self-reported (−77.5 min/week) MVPA decreased from 26 to 78 weeks
Frensham, et al., 2020 [41, 60, 61]	Quasi-randomized controlled trial Rural regions of south Australia	Not specified 47.3% ruralb	N=91 Metropolitan and rural Australians diagnosed with cancer (any type except skin) who had completed treatment and were insufficiently active 51.6% female 95.6% white 72.5% less than high school M age=65.7 years	STRIDE (Steps Toward Improving Diet and Exercise for cancer survivors) web-based intervention including aerobic activity or waitlist control Participants access STRIDE website for 12 weeks and are emailed daily step goals weekly	New-Lifestyles NL-1000 pedometer (steps/day) 0, 12, and 24 weeks	STRIDE intervention group increased their daily steps/day by 31.5% compared with an increase of 12.5% in the control group
Gray, et al., 2019 [38, 62–64]	Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial North Carolina and rural regions across the United States	RUCA defined large rural, small rural, and isolated regions 100% rural	N=160 Rural elderly colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer survivors who were ≥5 years post-diagnosis and insufficiently active 56.9% female 86.9% white 38.1% high school or less M age=73.0 years	Reach-out to Enhance Wellness (RENEW) iteratively-tailored behavioral intervention including mailed print materials, telephone prompts, and telephone counseling or delayed intervention Participants were contacted 28 times across the 48 week intervention period	Community Health Activities Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire, endurance (min/week) and strength-training (min/week) exercise 0 and 48 weeks	Endurance exercise increased by 27.1 min/week and strength-training exercise increased by 22.7 min/week over 48 weeks (greater changes in physical activity observed in urban vs. rural, but no statistically significant difference between groups)
Hegel, et al., 2011 [39]	Randomized controlled trial Rural New Hampshire, United States	Not specified 100% rural	N=23 Rural breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant therapy at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center 100% female 100% white 66% bachelor degree M age=52.6 years	Telephone-delivered problem solving and occupational therapy (PST-OT) intervention or usual care Sessions delivered once a week for 6 weeks (246 min)	Adherence to aerobic exercise (measure and units not specified) 0, 6, and 12 weeks	No differences between groups in the frequency of engaging in aerobic exercise
Ristevsk, et al., 2020 [42]	Single arm trial Victoria, Australia	Rural region in eastern Victoria (West Gippsland), which has a population of 52,105 distributed over 4025 km2 and has one public acute hospital 100% rural	N=48b Rural adults diagnosed with cancer who were admitted to the chemotherapy day unit 71% female M age=65.9 years	I.CAN program uses a health coaching model to provide tailored nutrition and physical activity guidance via three streams: One-on-one support (Stream A), combination of one-on-one support and group sessions (Stream B), and group sessions (Stream C) One on one support and group sessions held fortnightly for 6 weeks (390 min)	Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (% meeting guidelines) 0, 12, 24, and 48 weeks	% meeting exercise guidelines increased from 51% to 86% over 12 weeks

Abbreviations: M, mean; MVPA, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

^aRace/ethnicity and/or education not reported.

^bUnable to calculate results for rural sample only.