BACKGROUND: Due to improvements in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, the healthcare system faces a growing number of cancer survivors. Breast cancer survivors experience many difficulties when returning to work, including discrimination at work and lack of support by employers and colleagues. OBJECTIVE: To point out the knowledge in literature up to date about return to work (RTW) after breast cancer, the factors influencing it and the interventions to facilitate it. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in January 2017 using the databases Medline (PubMed) and Scopus. Studies were included if they analyzed the problem of RTW in women treated for breast cancer. RESULTS: Twenty-six articles met the inclusion criteria. The studies were divided into four themes: factors facilitating or impeding RTW; interventions to enhance RTW; lived experiences of RTW; economic aspects related to cancer survivors and RTW. CONCLUSIONS: The heterogeneity of the interventions suggests the need for a better definition of the concept of RTW. To compare interventions, studies should use a rigorous approach and better outcome measures should be identified to evaluate RTW.

Background Renal transplant is the gold standard treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease. Employment after transplant is an important marker of recovery and a key component of general well-being with important social implications. Aims To evaluate employment status after renal transplant and to investigate facilitators of and barriers to return to work for renal transplant patients. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Library in March 2019 using the following algorithms: ‘return to work’ AND kidney AND transplant. Eligible studies were selected by two independent researchers. Quality assessment was performed using the following tools: International Narrative Systematic Assessment (INSA) and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) for cross-sectional and cohort studies. Results The review included 18 papers: 10 cross-sectional studies, 6 cohort studies and 2 narrative reviews. The weighted mean percentage for return to work within 1 year was 39.4% (95% CI 39.3–39.6%). Employment status was influenced by modifiable and non-modifiable factors, such as pre-transplant employment, sociodemographic characteristics, clinical conditions and comorbidities, operative technique (invasive or not), type of transplants (living donor or cadaver), pre-transplant dialysis, psychosocial support, educational level and participation in education programmes. Conclusion Return to work after kidney transplant is a dynamic process influenced by numerous factors. It is vital to implement multidimensional interventions focused on rehabilitation and influencing modifiable factors to improve return to work after kidney transplant. This systematic review updates knowledge in the field of transplant and of disability management.

The aim of this work is investigate relationship between health-related quality of life and work-related stress and the impact of gender, education level, and age on this relationship. A cross-sectional study was conducted among workers of various setting in Rome and Frosinone. Work-related stress was measured with a demand–control questionnaire and health-related functioning by SF (short form)-12 health survey. There were 611 participants. Men reported high mental composite summary (MCS) and physical composite summary (PCS). In multivariate analysis age, gender (p < 0.001) and job demand (0.045) predicted low PCS. Low MCS predicted poor PCS. Job demand and educational level resulted negatively associated with MCS. In an analysis stratified for age, gender, and educational level, gender and age resulted effect modifier for MCS, gender and education level for PCS. In women increase of decision latitude predict (p = 0.001) an increase in MCS; a low job demand predict high MCS in male (p ≤ 0.001). In younger workers, a lower level of job demand predicted high MCS (<0.001). For PCS, gender and education level resulted effect modifier. In women, high decision latitude predicted higher PCS (p = 0.001) and lower level of job demand results in higher PCS (p ≤ 0.001). Higher educational level resulted predictor of low PCS. Management of risk about work-related stress should consider socio-demographic factors.

Academics often have to face with burnout syndrome at work. This cross-sectional study evaluates the reliability of the Italian version of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) in a sample of Academics of Sapienza University of Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, through an online questionnaire composed of the CBI, SF12 Health Survey, and Positivity Scale. Univariate, bivariate, multivariate analyses, and Cronbach α coefficients of CBI were performed. Ninety-five participants completed the questionnaire (response rate 85%). Cronbach’s α of the three domains were high (0.892, 0.868, and 0.836). Women, younger and part time professors reported higher score in personal (p = 0.025; 0.060) and work burnout. In multivariate analysis decreasing age (β = −0.263; p = 0.001); being a professor in environmental technicians (β = −0.120; p = 0.098); and low mental (β = −0.263; p = 0.020), physical (β = −0.319; p ≤ 0.001) and positivity scores (β = −0.237; p = 0.031) predict significantly higher personal burnout. Low physical (β = −0.346; p < 0.001) and mental (β = − 0.249; p = 0.013) positivity (β = −0.345; p = 0.001) scores; fewer years of work (β = −0.269; p ≤ 0.001); and being a medical or nursing professor (β = 0.169; p = 0.016) predicts high work burnout. Low MCS predicts a high level of student burnout. Results suggest that the Italian version of the CBI is a reliable instrument. Further research should focus on the prevalence of burnout in academics.

A multidisciplinary approach can help in sustaining and restoring impaired physical, psychosocial, and occupational outcomes of breast cancer patients.