Employment Status Of Cancer Survivors Research Articles

Unemployment risk of all employed working-age cancer survivors after cancer diagnosis in South Korea: a retrospective cohort analysis of population-based administrative data.

As the cancer survival rate increases, discussions on the employment status of cancer survivors should be actively carried out worldwide. This study examined patients' working status changes after cancer diagnosis to provide the basis for cancer survivors' return to work. We established a nationwide cohort to determine long-term work changes after cancer diagnosis. All patients aged 19 to 50years who were newly diagnosed with cancer while working for the previous 3years were considered as the case group in 2010. Using propensity score matching (PSM), the cases were matched by sex and age at a ratio of 1:3 with the control group. Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox hazard model analyses were performed to determine the occurrence of unemployment and return to work in the case and control groups on a yearly basis. According to the 6-year follow-up after cancer diagnosis, 26.5% of cancer patients and 23.2% of controls had lost their jobs by the end of the follow-up (P < .0001). Meanwhile, 50.5% of cancer patients and 57.4% of controls had returned to work after unemployment (P < .0001). Subsequently, based on the Cox hazard model, the unemployment risk of cancer patients was 1.42 times higher than that of the general population, while the proportion of those who returned to work was 1.15 times lower. Employment is very closely related to the quality of life of cancer survivors. These results highlight the need for a system that can support cancer survivors' work maintenance and return to work after unemployment during the treatment period and the fact that awareness of this must be improved.

Unemployment among cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic

Aim: The survival rate of cancer patients is increased which resulted in an increased number of cancer survivors in working life. Return to work of cancer patients resulted in improved health outcomes and quality of life. However, cancer survivors have a high risk of unemployment. The COVID-19 pandemic caused global economic distress and put a great burden on the healthcare system which affected the cancer survivors further. COVID-19 may be a concurrent risk along with cancer, as a barrier for return to work. We investigated the factors that are associated with unemployment among cancer survivors, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, we aimed to detect risk factors for unemployment amongst cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to maintain the employment status of cancer survivors and prevent undesired individual and global economic and health outcomes.&#x0D; Material and Method: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Control patients who applied to the Medical Oncology outpatient clinic were over 18 years old, diagnosed with cancer, completed adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy treatment, the disease has not relapsed, and working before March 2020 were included in the study. The survey collection process for the study was carried out between July 2020 and November 2020.&#x0D; Results: There were 146 participants (65 male (44,5%) and 81 female (%55,5)). 42 (28.8%) of the 146 participants stated that they quit their jobs during the pandemic. Being a government employee, having a good-high household income and a high degree of education was protective against losing their jobs.&#x0D; Conclusion: It is very important to understand the causes of unemployment among cancer survivors and solve these issues in order to increase the well-being, quality of life, and survival of the patient, as well as improve the economic and social status of society.

Return to Work in Survivors With Occupational Cancers.

The aim of this study is to investigate the change in employment status in survivors with occupational cancers at the time of diagnosis until 2 years. In this study, we included 382 occupational cancer workers from Labor Insurance Database. After applying exclusion criteria, 86 workers in 2004 to 2015 were included. The mean age of cancer workers were 51.38 ± 9.1119 years old and the average salary of industry of NTD 31,492 ± 10,696. Salary adjustment was the most change in the employment status in cancer survivors. Salary adjustment (37%), 28- to 45-year-old group (55%), male (30%), and Southern district (34%), had the most workers on day 730. Wholesale and Retail Trade had the most of percentage of cancer survivals remained on workplace. Change of employment status in cancer survivors are important to decrease the impact of economic burden on society.

Employment pathways of cancer survivors-analysis from administrative data.

The incidence of cancer and its survival rate have been increasing worldwide, resulting in a greater number of cancer survivors. Since one's job often forms a central basis for self-esteem and provides financial security, knowing whether and how cancer can affect the employment of employed cancer survivors are important issues. While the past studies generally used survey data, this study utilizes pre-existing administrative data and employs the difference-in-differences model. We take newly diagnosed cancer patients in 2012, aged from 15 to 60years and employed upon diagnosis, as the study group (N = 12694) and the propensity-score matching-adjusted non-cancer employed population as the control group. Monthly employment information for 2011-2014 was retrieved for both groups. We define the pre-event period as the months before the diagnosis and the post-event period as the months from the diagnosis and afterwards. A pseudo-date symbolizing the index point for cancer diagnosis is assigned to the control group. The logistic regression results show that the impact of cancer on the employment status of cancer survivors is significantly negative for both genders. However, if the differences in employment status between the study and control groups prior to the incidence of cancer are significant, then some past research that used only post-period observations might have rendered biased estimates. The employment pathways indicate that 88% of female cancer survivors employed upon diagnosis continue to work during the full 12months after diagnosis. Further analyses on earnings demonstrate the possibility of cancer survivors retaining their job, but at lower pay.

Cancer and heart attack survivors\u2019 expectations of employment status: results from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

BackgroundSociodemographic, health- and work-related factors have been found to influence return to work in cancer survivors. It is feasible though that behavioural factors, such as expectation of being at work, could also affect work-related outcomes. Therefore, the effect of earlier identified factors and expectation of being at work on future employment status in cancer survivors was explored. To assess the degree to which these factors specifically concern cancer survivors, a comparison with heart attack survivors was made.MethodsData from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were used. Cancer and heart attack survivors of working age in the UK were included and followed up for 2 years. Baseline characteristics of both cancer and heart attack survivors were compared regarding employment status. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed in survivors at work, and the interaction between independent variables and diagnose group was assessed.ResultsIn cancer survivors at work (N = 159), alcohol consumption, participating in moderate or vigorous sport activities, general health and participation were univariate associated with employment status at two-year follow-up. Only fair general health (compared to very good general health) remained statistically significant in the multivariate model (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.13–0.76; p = 0.010). In heart attack survivors at work (N = 78), gender, general health and expectation of being at work were univariate associated with employment status at follow-up. Female gender (OR 0.03; 95% CI 0.00–0.57; p = 0.018) and high expectation of being at work (OR 10.68; 95% CI 1.23–93.92; p = 0.033) remained significant in the multivariate model. The influence of gender (p = 0.066) and general health (p = 0.020) regarding employment status was found to differ significantly between cancer and heart attack survivors.ConclusionsWhen predicting future employment status in cancer survivors in the UK, general health is the most relevant factor to consider. While expectation of being at work did not show any significant influence in cancer survivors, in heart attack survivors, it should not be disregarded though, when developing interventions to affect their employment status. Future research should focus on more specific measures for expectation, and additional behavioural factors, such as self-efficacy, and their effect on employment status.

The impact of education and occupation on the employment status of cancer survivors

We explored the effect of a diagnosis of cancer on employment according to cancer type, education, occupation, age, gender, mother tongue (Swedish or Finnish), calendar time and hospital district. All 12,542 new cancer cases diagnosed in 1987–1988 and 1992–1993, aged 15–60 years at the time of the diagnosis were identified from the Finnish Cancer Registry. The employment rate of the cancer survivors 2–3 years after the diagnosis was only 9% lower than their gender- and age-matched referents. However, we found that education and occupation modified the effect of cancer on the employment; the difference between cancer survivors and their referents in the probability of being employed was greater in the lower than in the higher educational groups. A modifying effect of education on the probability of employment was found among people with cancer of the lung, stomach, rectum and cervix uteri and those with cancers of the nervous system.