Survey of return to work of head and neck cancer survivors: A report from a tertiary cancer center in India

Abstract

Further studies are needed to address the large unmet needs regarding identification and amelioration of barriers to return to work for head and neck cancer survivors in low- and middle-income countries, such as India. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 893-899, 2017.

Return to Work in Survivors of Human Papillomavirus–Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer: An Australian Experience

“…Of those who did not RTW (10 of 68; 14.7%), half cited ongoing treatment-related adverse effects as the predominant obstacle to RTW. Although our results are broadly similar to those of other non-HPV HNC studies, [28][29][30] these studies have significant patient selection heterogeneity, varying with respect to tumor location, treatment modalities, and time since completing treatment. Importantly, country-specific differences in health care systems, social support, and workplace laws will significantly affect how and when patients RTW.…”

“…The majority of participants in this study returned to the same occupation and hours that they worked before their diagnosis, as also seen in other HNC studies. 28,30,38 In addition, HNC studies have found that support from employers and coworkers and work flexibility and modifications helped patients to RTW, 32,38,40,51,52 as reflected in our study. In our sample, better HNC and QOL scores were associated with returning to the same or more hours of work.…”

“…31 Participants who had returned to work successfully reported higher global QOL, a finding seen in a number of HNC studies. 28,29,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Individually, only the functional and physical FACT-H&N domains were significantly higher in those who had RTW. We did not find differences in emotional well-being, social well-being, and the H&N additional concerns domain scores, which is in contrast to other studies, which have found an association in the emotional and social well-being domains.…”

“…[46][47][48][49] Available data indicate that a wide range of clinical, physical, and psychosocial issues affect RTW in HNC survivors. Factors that are negatively associated with RTW include treatment-related adverse effects 12,20,28,30,32,[34][35][36][39][40][41][42]50,51 and poor QOL, 20,28,[32][33][34][35][36][37] whereas a supportive work environment 32,40,51 and having a white collar occupation 28,38,42 support RTW. This conclusion was reflected in our study, with the exception that we found no difference based on occupation types.…”

Impact of physical and psychosocial dysfunction on return to work in survivors of oral cavity cancer

“…They also reported that unemployed patients experienced more anxiety because of their diagnosis and treatment and that white‐collar workers had greater fear of public contact than blue‐collar workers. However, OCC survivors who were female and had better family structure (two male children with the eldest child younger than 20 years) and more education were more likely to return to work . In addition, HNC survivors who were older, had less education, greater anxiety, greater oral dysfunction, and worse social functioning were less likely to return to work .…”