Vocational Rehabilitation for the Return to Work of Breast Cancer Patients: a Feasibility Study (VocRehab)

Azienda USL Reggio Emilia - IRCCS

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Breast Cancer; Breast Neoplasm

Treatments: Other: Multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05309265

2022/0035986

Details and patient eligibility

About

In Italy, 50% of new breast cancer (BC) diagnosis occur in female of working age. Although return to work (RTW) is strongly desired by BC patients, cancer survivors are more likely to be unemployed than healthy individuals. Moreover, work difficulties may hindrance this process. Since 2018, the investigators have planned a local social-healthcare pathway which provides a multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation intervention with the aim to help cancer survivors in their RTW process. To date, the feasibility of the multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation interventions has not been verified for BC patients.

Full description

BC is a public health burden with increasing trends in Western countries. In Italy, 50% of the new BC diagnosis have occurred in female of working age. Even though the return to work (RTW) is strongly desired, cancer survivors are 1.4 times more likely to be unemployed than healthy individuals. Furthermore, work difficulties may occur during this process. To promote the RTW, multidisciplinary interventions have shown moderate quality evidence in cancer survivors.

Since 2018, the investigators have planned a local social-healthcare pathway which provides a multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation intervention with the aim to help cancer survivors in their RTW process. During the implementation of the pathway, BC patients were referred mainly by the physiotherapists of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit (PMRU). As standard care, BC patients can participate to an educational group session held by the physiotherapists after surgery. During this session, work difficulties have emerged.

Thus, the investigators aim to verify the feasibility of the multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation intervention for a sample of BC patients whit work difficulties who will participate to an educational group session held by the physiotherapists.

Enrollment: 16 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 67 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• breast cancer diagnosis (regardless of stage and treatment)
• breast cancer patients in working age
• breast cancer patient who will participate to an educational group session held by the physiotherapists of the PMRU
• breast cancer patients with work difficulties

Exclusion criteria

• Breast cancer patients with work issues that cannot be addressed by any of the interventions (e.g., patients who would like to change their job)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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16 participants in 1 patient group

Breast cancer patients with work difficulties

Other group

Description:

Breast cancer patients with work difficulties can receive any of the three types of support, or a combination of these: information, occupational therapy and social support, in order to overcome barriers and return to work/continue to work

Treatment:

Other: Multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation intervention