Returning to work after breast cancer: A systematic review of reviews

Abstract

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.

Trajectories of sickness absence and disability pension in the 2 years before and 3 years after breast cancer diagnosis: A Swedish longitudinal population‐based cohort study

“…Previous studies have suggested that after BC diagnosis, sociodemographic factors (eg, age, country of birth, and educational level) are associated with a higher risk of SA, DP, not returning to work, and unemployment . Surprisingly, after making adjustments, we did not find any significant association between women's sociodemographic characteristics (including age, country of birth, educational level, family situation, living area, and occupational sector) and future high levels of SA/DP days (ie, >90 or >180 days/year).…”

“…Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide, with approximately 2 million new cases in 2018 . Approximately half of women diagnosed with BC are of working age; most of these women survive, and a large number of them return to work after treatment …”

“…In general, more studies with rigorous outcome measurements regarding SA/DP before and after BC diagnosis are warranted . The use of different SA/DP measures to capture both the occurrence and length of SA/DP will establish a better knowledge base regarding possible future situations among women diagnosed with BC.…”

Return to work after breast cancer: The role of treatment‐related side effects and potential impact on quality of life

“…Moreover, reasons for impaired RTW are manifold, comprising health-related, economic, job-related, socio-demographic and psychological factors, and individual preferences (Cocchiara et al., 2018;Islam et al, 2014;Sun et al, 2017). Some of the factors influencing RTW cannot be modified.…”

The Predictive Value of Return to Work Self-efficacy for Return to Work Among Employees with Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy

“…Systematic reviews have shown that RTW of people with current or previous cancers is associated with multiple factors [1,3,[30][31][32]. The following factors have repeatedly been shown to be of significance in the RTW-process of cancer patients: personal factors (e.g., socioeconomic factors), health-related factors (e.g., physical and mental health), illness-and treatment-related factors (e.g., type of cancer, type of treatment), and work-related factors (e.g., work demands, type of work, working environment) [1][2][3]32].…”