Return-to-work intervention during cancer treatment - The providers' experiences.

Abstract

To explore in-depth understanding of providers' experiences when involved in a return-to-work (RTW) intervention offered during cancer treatment. Semi-structured individual interviews and participant observations at a hospital department and two municipal job centers were carried out, including ten providers (physicians, nurses and social workers). A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach was applied, involving coding, identification of themes and interpretation of findings. Three major themes were identified: Treatment first, Work as an integrated component in cancer rehabilitation, and Challenges in bringing up work issues. Differences in providers' experiences of the RTW intervention offered to cancer patients were found: in the hospital setting RTW was a second priority, whereas in the municipality job centers it was an integrated component. Further studies are needed to investigate how and when occupational rehabilitation services can be implemented across sectors to support cancer patients' RTW. In the future, work issues ought to be systematically presented by providers across sectors as early as possible to support cancer patients' RTW. Cancer patients' individual needs and thoughts about RTW are to be identified by both health care providers during treatment and social workers at the municipality level and shared across sectors.