IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i18p11214-d908578.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“The Last Thing You Have to Worry About”: A Thematic Analysis of Employment Challenges Faced by Cancer Survivors

Author

Listed:
  • Kathleen Doyle Lyons

    (Department of Occupational Therapy, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA 02129, USA)

  • Rachel C. Forcino

    (The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA)

  • Sivan Rotenberg

    (Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA)

  • Jenna E. Schiffelbein

    (Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA)

  • Kali J. Morrissette

    (Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA)

  • Cassandra M. Godzik

    (Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA)

  • Jonathan D. Lichtenstein

    (The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
    Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA)

Abstract

The evidence base for interventions that support the employment goals of cancer survivors is growing but inconclusive. As the first step in initiating a community-engaged program of research aimed at developing and testing interventions to support the employment goals of cancer survivors, 23 cancer survivors, 17 healthcare providers, and 5 employers participated in individual interviews to elicit perceptions regarding local challenges and resources related to work maintenance and optimization within the context of cancer treatment. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify cross-cutting experiences that were voiced by all three types of participants. Three themes were found in the data: (1) the onus for identifying and articulating work-related issues is upon the cancer survivor; (2) the main support offered to cancer survivors involved time away from work and flexibility with scheduling work and treatment activities; and (3) participants voiced a lack of information regarding one or more aspects related to supporting employment goals of cancer survivors. Supportive resources designed for cancer survivors, employers, and/or healthcare providers are needed to help cancer survivors optimize their employment situations.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathleen Doyle Lyons & Rachel C. Forcino & Sivan Rotenberg & Jenna E. Schiffelbein & Kali J. Morrissette & Cassandra M. Godzik & Jonathan D. Lichtenstein, 2022. "“The Last Thing You Have to Worry About”: A Thematic Analysis of Employment Challenges Faced by Cancer Survivors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:18:p:11214-:d:908578
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11214/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/18/11214/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kristopher Lamore & Thomas Dubois & Ulrike Rothe & Matilde Leonardi & Isabelle Girard & Ulf Manuwald & Soja Nazarov & Fabiola Silvaggi & Erika Guastafierro & Chiara Scaratti & Thierry Breton & Jérôme , 2019. "Return to Work Interventions for Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and a Methodological Critique," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Caroline Alleaume & Alain Paraponaris & Marc-Karim Bendiane & Patrick Peretti-Watel & Anne-Déborah Bouhnik, 2020. "The positive effect of workplace accommodations on the continued employment of cancer survivors five years after diagnosis," Post-Print hal-02445816, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bertrand Porro & Mario Campone & Philippe Moreau & Yves Roquelaure, 2022. "Supporting the Return to Work of Breast Cancer Survivors: From a Theoretical to a Clinical Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Stéphane Faury & Philémon Aurouet & Bruno Quintard & Jérôme Foucaud, 2023. "A Systematic Review on Reporting of Methods in National Surveys about Adults’ Attitudes to Lifestyle and Environmental Risk Factors for Cancer," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-22, May.
    3. Fabiola Silvaggi & Michela Eigenmann & Chiara Scaratti & Erika Guastafierro & Claudia Toppo & Jaana Lindstrom & Eeva Rantala & Iñaki Imaz-Iglesia & Andrew Barnfield & Alison Maassen & Matilde Leonardi, 2020. "Employment and Chronic Diseases: Suggested Actions for The Implementation of Inclusive Policies for The Participation of People with Chronic Diseases in the Labour Market," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-9, January.
    4. Soja Nazarov & Ulf Manuwald & Matilde Leonardi & Fabiola Silvaggi & Jérôme Foucaud & Kristopher Lamore & Erika Guastafierro & Chiara Scaratti & Jaana Lindström & Ulrike Rothe, 2019. "Chronic Diseases and Employment: Which Interventions Support the Maintenance of Work and Return to Work among Workers with Chronic Illnesses? A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-14, May.
    5. Kollerup, Anna & Ladenburg, Jacob & Heinesen, Eskil & Kolodziejczyk, Christophe, 2021. "The importance of workplace accommodation for cancer survivors – The role of flexible work schedules and psychological help in returning to work," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    6. Guillaume Broc & Jean Baptiste Fassier & Stéphane Raffard & Olivier Lareyre, 2024. "Planning Individual and Population-Based Interventions in Global Health: Applying the DEA-A Framework to Promote Behavioral, Emotional, and/or Cognitive Change among Stakeholders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-13, March.
    7. Kisook Kim & Hyohyeon Yoon, 2021. "Health-Related Quality of Life among Cancer Survivors Depending on the Occupational Status," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-16, April.
    8. José-María Figueredo & Cristina García-Ael & Andrea Gragnano & Gabriela Topa, 2020. "Well-Being at Work after Return to Work (RTW): A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-27, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:18:p:11214-:d:908578. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.