Background Returning to work is a key unmet need for working-age cancer survivors. Objective This study sought to evaluate return-to-work outcomes of a multidisciplinary intervention provided as routine employee support. Methods In a retrospective cohort analysis, patients with cancer and more than 3 months of absence from work were provided with an intervention consisting of digital resources and calls with a health coach. Propensity score matching was used to define a similar cohort of cancer patients absent from work, who were not offered the coaching intervention. The return-to-work rate as a percentage of all participants and secondary outcomes, such as the rate of death, were measured. The median time to return to work was compared between the cohorts using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results A total of 220 participants were enrolled in the intervention, of which 125 met the criteria for analysis. The median follow-up from cancer diagnosis was 79 weeks (IQR 60-106 weeks). In the matched control group, 22 (17.6%) participants returned to work compared with 38 (30.4%) in the intervention group (P=.02). Additionally, 19 (15.2%) matched controls died prior to claim closure compared with 13 (10.4%) in the intervention group (P=.26). The Kaplan-Meier estimated median time for the first 15% of the cohort to return to work was 87.1 weeks (95% CI 60.0-109.1 weeks) for the matched control group compared with 70.6 weeks (95% CI 52.6-79.6 weeks; P=.08) for the intervention group. Conclusions Patients receiving a remotely delivered coaching program in a real-world setting returned to work at a higher frequency than did control participants receiving usual care.

1566 Background: Return-to-work (RTW) is a key unmet need for working age cancer survivors, with up to 40% failing to RTW 1 to 2 years post-diagnosis. This study sought to evaluate RTW outcomes of a multidisciplinary digital coaching intervention provided as routine employee support. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted from October 2018 to February 2020 where cancer patients with more than 3 months absent from work were provided by their insurance carriers with a multidisciplinary intervention comprising digital resources and telephone calls with a health coach. A logit regression model was used to calculate a propensity score using covariates of age, gender, insurance benefit type, cancer diagnosis date and time from diagnosis. Participants were then matched on a 1:1 basis using the nearest-neighbour method without replacement to create a matched control group out of 1,856 participants who did not receive the intervention. Primary outcomes, derived from insurance-claims data as standard business practice, included rate and time to RTW, along with death and other reasons for claim closure. Results: 220 participants enrolled in the intervention, of which 125 met the criteria for analysis (median age 53, IQR 45-58, 91% female). These participants were matched with 125 controls (median age 53, IQR 47-59, 94% female). Median follow-up from cancer diagnosis was 79 weeks (IQR 60-106). Of the matched controls, 22 returned to work (17.6%) compared with 38 (30.4%) in the intervention group (P =.02). 19 matched controls died prior to claim closure (15.2%) compared with 13 in the intervention group (10.4%; P =.26). Finally, Kaplan-Meier method estimated median time for the first 15% of participants to RTW was 87.1 weeks for controls (CI 60.0-109.1 weeks) compared with 70.6 weeks for the intervention group (CI 52.6-79.6 weeks; P =.08). Conclusions: This study evaluated the impact of a digitally delivered coaching program in a real-world setting for cancer patients, demonstrating a 12.8% increase in RTW rate over 18 months compared to matched controls. These findings corroborate and add to the literature on cancer as a chronic and manageable disease in the workplace.

Purpose:Return-to-work (RTW) is a key unmet need for working age cancer survivors. This study sought to evaluate RTW outcomes of a multidisciplinary intervention provided as routine employee support.Method:In a retrospective cohort analysis, patients with cancer and more than 3 months absent from work were provided an intervention consisting of digital resources and calls with a health coach. A logit regression model was used to calculate a propensity score using covariates of age, gender, insurance benefit type, date of cancer diagnosis and time from diagnosis derived from insurance-claims data and captured as standard business practice. Participants were matched on a 1:1 basis using the nearest-neighbor method without replacement to create a matched control group from a further 1,856 participants who did not receive the intervention.Results:220 participants enrolled in the intervention, of which 125 met the criteria for analysis. The median follow-up from cancer diagnosis was 79 weeks (IQR 60-106). In the matched control group, 22 returned to work (17.6%) compared with 38 (30.4%) in the intervention group (P=.02). Nineteen matched controls died prior to claim closure (15.2%) compared with 13 in the intervention group (10.4%; P=.26). Cox model estimated median time for the first 15% of the cohorts to RTW was 87.1 weeks for the matched control (CI 60.0-109.1 weeks) compared with 70.6 weeks for the intervention (CI 52.6-79.6 weeks; P=.08).Conclusion:A digitally delivered coaching program in a real-world setting for patients diagnosed with cancer improves the likelihood of RTW.Implications for cancer survivors: a remotely delivered coaching program in a real-world setting for cancer survivors can improve the likelihood of RTW.

BACKGROUND Returning to work is a key unmet need for working-age cancer survivors. OBJECTIVE This study sought to evaluate return-to-work outcomes of a multidisciplinary intervention provided as routine employee support. METHODS In a retrospective cohort analysis, patients with cancer and more than 3 months of absence from work were provided with an intervention consisting of digital resources and calls with a health coach. Propensity score matching was used to define a similar cohort of cancer patients absent from work, who were not offered the coaching intervention. The return-to-work rate as a percentage of all participants and secondary outcomes, such as the rate of death, were measured. The median time to return to work was compared between the cohorts using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS A total of 220 participants were enrolled in the intervention, of which 125 met the criteria for analysis. The median follow-up from cancer diagnosis was 79 weeks (IQR 60-106 weeks). In the matched control group, 22 (17.6%) participants returned to work compared with 38 (30.4%) in the intervention group (<i>P</i>=.02). Additionally, 19 (15.2%) matched controls died prior to claim closure compared with 13 (10.4%) in the intervention group (<i>P</i>=.26). The Kaplan-Meier estimated median time for the first 15% of the cohort to return to work was 87.1 weeks (95% CI 60.0-109.1 weeks) for the matched control group compared with 70.6 weeks (95% CI 52.6-79.6 weeks; <i>P</i>=.08) for the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS Patients receiving a remotely delivered coaching program in a real-world setting returned to work at a higher frequency than did control participants receiving usual care.