Abstract
BackgroundCancer patients’ return to work is a growing aspect of survivorship care, yet limited studies have been conducted in Korea to understand the work-related experience of cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to understand the unmet needs of cancer patients and identify the necessary factors to develop a vocational intervention program based on cancer patients’ work-related experience after cancer diagnosis.MethodsSemi-structured individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 50 cancer patients who were working at the time of diagnosis at a university hospital in Seoul, South Korea from July to September of 2017. Interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results‘The changes patients experienced after cancer diagnosis’ were categorized into Personal and socio-environmental changes. ‘Personal changes’ were changes within the patient that were further divided into ‘physical’, ‘psychological’ and ‘spiritual’ changes while ‘socio-environmental changes’ were changes in either ‘attitude’ and ‘relationship’ of other people cancer patients encountered. In addition to these post-diagnosis changes, the following 4 major factors related to return-to-work were identified to affect patients’ experience: ‘fear of cancer recurrence’, ‘financial status’, ‘informational support’, and ‘job-related work environment’.ConclusionCancer patients’ working status was determined by personal and socio-environmental changes after the cancer diagnosis which as well as psychological distress and practical issues such as fear of cancer recurrence, financial burden, and work environment. Educational materials and intervention programs informing patients on these changes and factors may facilitate their return-to-work after diagnosis.
Highlights
Cancer patients’ return to work is a growing aspect of survivorship care, yet limited studies have been conducted in Korea to understand the work-related experience of cancer patients
Study design This study takes the form of a qualitative content analysis, based on individual in-depth interviews involving cancer patients who used to work at the time of their cancer diagnosis
The results show that patients experienced personal and socio-environmental changes due to cancer and along with these changes, four factors affecting the decision to return to work modified participants’ ultimate decision
Summary
Cancer patients’ return to work is a growing aspect of survivorship care, yet limited studies have been conducted in Korea to understand the work-related experience of cancer patients. According to the analysis of the national health insurance data, about half of all working cancer patients lose their jobs after receiving a cancer diagnosis, and only up to 40% of them are reemployed [8, 9]. This may be attributed to various reasons, but the key influencing factors seem to be: gender, age, occupation type, level of income [9], medical conditions including chemotherapy [10], and comorbidities [11]. There are very few studies in Korea that reflect the socio-cultural factors of Korea on the difficulties associated with returning to work for cancer patients
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