The maternal employment status after the completion of their child's cancer treatment: A cross‐sectional exploratory study

Abstract

Aim To clarify the details of mothers' employment status after the completion of their child's cancer treatment. Design A cross‐sectional exploratory study. Methods Data are collected from 62 mothers of childhood cancer survivors using self‐report questionnaires. Fisher's exact test was used to determine the statistical significance of factors between the mothers who worked and those who did not work after their child's cancer treatment had been completed. Results Thirty‐two mothers worked after the completion of their child's cancer treatment. There were significant differences in age, education level, employment status at the diagnosis and time elapsed since the diagnosis between the working mothers and non‐working mothers. Twenty‐two non‐working mothers reported that they had some motivation to work, but the most common reason for not working was “To nurse or care for the child with cancer”. Some mothers also stated that they did not work due to anxiety about cancer recurrence.

Factors associated with employment status among mothers of survivors of childhood cancer: a cross-sectional study

“…If a mother is highly anxious about the physical and mental health of her CCS, including recurrence, then their motivation to work is considered to be low. Meanwhile, similar to previous studies [22], more than 60% of the nonworking mothers in the present study showed motivation to work. In a survey of Japanese working parents with children aged 0-6 years [31], 75.3% of mothers reported difficulty in balancing work and childcare, with the biggest reason being that they had to work with time in mind.…”

“…We developed a questionnaire based on previous studies [ 11 , 14 , 22 , 23 ], and experts in pediatric oncology examined its validity. For the care demands question items, we listed care that was predicted to affect mothers’ employment referring to research on the employment of mothers of children with disabilities [ 24 ].…”

“…Binary logistic regression was used to estimate the factors for the employment status of mothers of CCSs based on the variables that were found to be significant in the bivariate analysis. The variables to be input into the model were selected from those found to be significant ( p < 0.1) in the Mann–Whitney, χ 2 , and Fisher’s exact tests and those previously suggested to be related to the employment of mothers of CCSs [ 13 , 14 , 22 ]. We confirmed that the covariate variables had a correlation coefficient and a coefficient of association ≤ 0.2.…”

“…Because the risk of late effects increases with the duration of treatment [ 18 , 19 ], mothers continue to be involved in the medical care of their children regardless of how many years have passed [ 20 , 21 ]. Previous studies [ 13 , 14 , 22 ] have indicated that psychological factors such as anxiety about recurrence or practical factors such as care demands for CCSs affect the employment of CCSs’ mothers. Given this background, the present study aimed to identify the factors associated with maternal employment status, explore the employment status of mothers of CCSs in relation to support and both practical and psychological factors, and to clarify whether working mothers differ from nonworking mothers.…”

Financial hardship among siblings of long‐term survivors of childhood cancer: A Childhood Cancer Survivor Study report

“…Although financial hardship is common among long‐term survivors of childhood cancer, 6,23–25,38 these findings of higher odds of hardship among adult siblings versus the general adult population add to accumulating research examining the economic effects of a cancer diagnosis on family members. Several studies have reported declines in parental income and employment during treatment and survivorship 17,18,39,40 . Additionally, families typically experience increases in non–health care out‐of‐pocket spending that exceed what is reported among adults with cancer 21,22 and report increased rates of material hardship after starting therapy that concerningly continue after treatment is complete 41,42 .…”