Abstract
Although the prevalence of cancer is increasing, it is no longer synonymous with death. The number of cancer survivors is estimated to be increasing due to development in medical treatments and social programs; cancer survivors are increasingly returning to work after long-term unemployment. Thus, we examined the quality of life (QOL) and the factors associated with return of cancer survivors to the workplace. This study was performed using the 2008 Community Health Survey administered by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (N=548). We used Chi-square tests to compare demographic variables based on self-perceived health status, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare QOL scores among groups. We also performed a mixed-model analysis of the relationship between QOL and factors at the workplaces of cancer survivors. Based on the results of our study, the overall QOL of cancer survivors was associated with 'mutual respect', 'free emotional expression', occupation, and age. Moreover, different trends of QOL according to self-perceived health were identified on additional analysis. In the 'bad' self-perceived health group, QOL was significantly different according to income. The QOL of cancer survivors in the low-income group was lower than in the other groups. Conversely, the 'normal' group had a lower QOL caused by 'no mutual respect' and "no free emotional expression" in the workplace. The QOL in the 'good' group based on self-perceived health was higher in the younger age group. There may be a significant relationship between QOL and workplace factors for cancer survivors, although further study is needed to investigate this relationship in detail. This may facilitate formulation of policy and efforts to prevent and manage the decline in the QOL of cancer survivors returning to work.
Highlights
In the early 1990s, the majority of cancer patients did not survive and the onset of cancer was considered a death sentence (Benowitz, 1999; Austin et al, 2002; Moser et al, 2013)
We examined the quality of life (QOL) and the factors associated with return of cancer survivors to the workplace
The cancer survivors had the same level of disease severity, the QOL may have been perceived differently
Summary
In the early 1990s, the majority of cancer patients did not survive and the onset of cancer was considered a death sentence (Benowitz, 1999; Austin et al, 2002; Moser et al, 2013). The number of cancer patients gradually increased due to the aging population, which prompted many studies of the prevention and treatment of cancer (Niu et al, 2014). We examined the quality of life (QOL) and the factors associated with return of cancer survivors to the workplace. Conclusions: There may be a significant relationship between QOL and workplace factors for cancer survivors, further study is needed to investigate this relationship in detail. This may facilitate formulation of policy and efforts to prevent and manage the decline in the QOL of cancer survivors returning to work
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