Factors Affecting the Quality of Life of Korean Cancer Survivors Who Return to the Workplace

Abstract

Background: 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. Materials and Methods: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.

Quality of life among Korean gastrointestinal cancer survivors

“…This result is consistent with that of previous research that showed that the lower the socioeconomic level, the lower the awareness of QoL or subjective health status (Zafar et al, 2015). Cancer survivors continue to experience difficulties due to the economic impact of reduced socioeconomic activity or problem of returning to work in addition to the burden of medical expenses in cancer treatment (Han et al, 2014). The comorbid condition and poor health status could contribute to the unemployment of cancer survivors, losing their jobs related to treatment, and discrimination in the workplace.…”

“…Reference variables: Male(for gender); No(for marital status); Low(for economic burden for treatment); Gastric cancer(for cancer type); Ⅰ(for stage); Op only(for type of treatment); <2 years(for time since treatment completion), *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01. symptoms are more likely to have concerns about the disease and their overall health status, as well as anxiety or depression, which could cause secondary health problems. These problems have been reported to affect expenditure in accordance with the use of medical resources and impact the economic burden throughout the cancer survivorship trajectory (Han et al, 2014). Therefore, the issue of symptoms is likely to be connected to financial difficulty, considering problems on rehabilitation in society and recovery of economic functioning.…”

Follow-up of Gastrectomized Patients due to Gastric Cancer in a Cancer Center of Bogota, Colombia

“…In the sociocultural and family component, economic problems and difficulty to return to the work role prevail in the three groups of patients, findings that coincide with Han et al (30). Cancer survivors experience difficulties due to the economic impact they face because of the reduction of their socioeconomic activity or because of problems returning to work, besides the burden of health costs during treatment.…”

Health-Related Quality of Life among Cancer Survivors Depending on the Occupational Status

“…Successful RTW after cancer can be affected by employer-related factors, social support from coworkers and subjectively perceived work environment factors [22][23][24].…”