Work with cancer or stop working after diagnosis? Variables affecting the decision

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Andrea Gragnano ◽  
Massimo Miglioretti ◽  
Giorgio Magon ◽  
Gabriella Pravettoni
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Information ◽  
Health Care Needs ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Work Activity ◽  
Work Activities ◽  
Radio Therapy ◽  
Work Health ◽  
After Cancer ◽  
Italian Context ◽  
Treatment Surgery

BACKGROUND: Studies about work and cancer predominantly considered the return to work of cancer survivors. However, some studies highlighted that many patients work with cancer even immediately after the diagnosis. Little is known about the frequency, causes, and consequences of this behavior. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate how many cancer patients continue working in the month after the diagnosis in an Italian context and to determine which factors affect the decision to stop working in the same period. METHODS: One hundred seventy-six patients with breast, gastrointestinal, prostate, or female reproductive system cancer completed a survey with demographic, occupational, and psychosocial information. Clinical information was collected from medical records. We measured how many workers continued working in the month after cancer diagnosis without substantial interruptions and selected the best logistic regression model of this behavior’s predictors. RESULTS: Sixty-eight percent of the patients continued working in the month after the diagnosis. Patients were more likely to stop working with a higher level of perceived work-health incompatibility (OR = 2.64; 95%CI: 1.48–4.69), an open-ended contract (OR = 3.20; CI: 1.13–9.09), and a complex treatment (surgery+chemo-/radio-therapy, OR = 4.25; CI: 1.55–11.65) and less likely with breast cancer (OR = 0.20; CI: 0.07–0.56), and more children (OR = 0.59; CI: 0.37–0.96). CONCLUSIONS: To continue working with cancer is a common practice among the newly diagnosed. The decision to suspend work activity relates to evaluating how much work activities hamper one’s health care needs and the practical difficulties expected in handling cancer care and work.

scholarly journals Oncology Patients’ Experiences With Novel Electronic Patient Portals to Support Care and Treatment: Qualitative Study With Early Users and Nonusers of Portals in Alberta, Canada (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda D Santos ◽  
Vera Caine ◽  
Paula J Robson ◽  
Linda Watson ◽  
Jacob C Easaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Patient Portal ◽  
Health Care Needs ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Portals ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Oncology Patients

BACKGROUND With the current proliferation of clinical information technologies internationally, patient portals are increasingly being adopted in health care. Research, conducted mostly in the United States, shows that oncology patients have a keen interest in portals to gain access to and track comprehensive personal health information. In Canada, patient portals are relatively new and research into their use and effects is currently emerging. There is a need to understand oncology patients’ experiences of using eHealth tools and to ground these experiences in local sociopolitical contexts of technology implementation, while seeking to devise strategies to enhance portal benefits. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of oncology patients and their family caregivers when using electronic patient portals to support their health care needs. We focused on how Alberta’s unique, 2-portal context shapes experiences of early portal adopters and nonadopters, in anticipation of a province-wide rollout of a clinical information system in oncology facilities. METHODS This qualitative descriptive study employed individual semistructured interviews and demographic surveys with 11 participants. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed thematically. The study was approved by the University of Alberta Human Research Ethics Board. RESULTS Participants currently living with nonactive cancer discussed an online patient portal as one among many tools (including the internet, phone, videoconferencing, print-out reports) available to make sense of their diagnosis and treatment, maintain connections with health care providers, and engage with information. In the Fall of 2020, most participants had access to 1 of 2 of Alberta’s patient portals and identified ways in which this portal was supportive (or not) of their ongoing health care needs. Four major themes, reflecting the participants’ broader concerns within which the portal use was occurring, were generated from the data: (1) experiencing doubt and the desire for transparency; (2) seeking to become an informed and active member of the health care team; (3) encountering complexity; and (4) emphasizing the importance of the patient–provider relationship. CONCLUSIONS Although people diagnosed with cancer and their family caregivers considered an online patient portal as beneficial, they identified several areas that limit how portals support their oncology care. Providers of health care portals are invited to recognize these limitations and work toward addressing them.

Health care needs of patients with rare diseases

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. A. van Nispen ◽  
P. M. Rijken ◽  
M. J. W. M. Heijmans
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Rare Diseases ◽  
Health Care Needs ◽  
Care Needs
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