Sociodemographic and disease-related determinants of return to work among women with breast cancer: a German longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundReturn to work (RTW) is a key parameter of outcome quality that ensures social participation. Therefore, this study analyses the sociodemographic and disease-related determinants of RTW among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.MethodsIn a prospective, multicentre cohort study, breast cancer patients were surveyed three times: directly after surgery, after 10 weeks, and after 40 weeks. Logistic regression analysis was applied to estimate the association of RTW at 40 weeks following discharge with sociodemographic and disease-related characteristics (n = 577).ResultsThe sociodemographic variables “entrance certificate at a university of applied science” compared to “university entrance certificate” (OR = 3.1, 95%-CI = 1.2–8.1), age group “55–59 years” compared to “18–44 years” (OR = 3.2, 95%-CI = 1.2–8.4) and “having children” (OR = 2.8, 95%-CI = 1.2–6.2) as well as the disease-related variables “rehabilitation” (OR = 0.5, 95%-CI = 0.3–0.9), self-rated health “good” and “excellent” compared to “bad” (OR = 2.7, 95%-CI = 1.4–5.5; OR = 11.6, 95%-CI = 4.2–31.8) and the UICC-classification “stage II” and “stage III/IV” in comparison to “stage 0/I” (OR = 0.5, 95%-CI = 0.3–0.8; OR = 0.2, 95%-CI = 0.1–0.5) significantly affect RTW among breast cancer patients (Nagelkerke’s Pseudo-R2 = 0.275).ConclusionsThe findings show that significant differences in RTW exist between patient groups and suggest that RTW issues must be addressed more effectively before, during and after treatment. For future research on RTW in Germany, longitudinal studies with a follow-up of several years are necessary. Information and support deficits should be tackled by social services or breast care nurses.Trial registrationDatabase Health Services Research, VfD_PIAT_12_001630, registered 01.03.2012Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3768-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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

“…An exploratory survey on work experience including breast cancer patients from Germany but also UK and France found that the number of full-time employees dropped from 54% before diagnosis to 32% 1-5 years after adjuvant chemotherapy (Braybrooke et al, 2015). Finally, another study in Germany with 577 patients diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013 observed that 35.2% of the patients did not return to work within 40 weeks of surgery (Heuser et al, 2018). Overall, diseasefree breast cancer survivors may need more support to fully return to working life.…”

“…, up-to-date information on the situation in Germany is scarce (Braybrooke et al, 2015;Heuser et al, 2018;Mehnert & Koch, 2013a, 2013bNoeres et al, 2013).…”

“…Likewise, barriers and facilitators for RTW might differ between countries. While overall there is a growing body of research on RTW (Bijker et al, ; Islam et al, ; Kiasuwa Mbengi et al, ; Paltrinieri et al, ; Sun et al, ; van Muijen et al, ), up‐to‐date information on the situation in Germany is scarce (Braybrooke et al, ; Heuser et al, ; Mehnert & Koch, , ; Noeres et al, ).…”

Reincorporación laboral de mujeres con cáncer de mama: experiencia de un centro oncológico en la ciudad de Medellín

“…El retorno al trabajo es un proceso complejo que involucra las esferas física, psicológica y laboral de las pacientes y que se relaciona en gran medida con el sentido de regreso a la normalidad después de un proceso patológico, la seguridad de los ingresos y la participación social (8) .…”

Breast cancer patients’ return to work (B-CARE): protocol of a longitudinal mixed-methods study aiming to explore medical and occupational rehabilitation of patients with breast cancer in Germany

“…While long-term work outcomes have been analysed, little is known about how cancer survivors evaluate these outcomes in terms of job satisfaction and the voluntary nature of their employment development 22. Hence, more longitudinal studies exploring RTW,23 its long-term outcomes and their evaluation from the cancer survivors’ perspective are needed, as work contributes to the social and psychological well-being of cancer survivors 21 24…”