Facilitating Factors and Barriers in the Return to Work of Working Women Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Participants
2.2. Data Collection Procedures
2.3. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
“Work is what works best for depression. However, there are patients who find it difficult because of the working conditions, …, they ask us for reports, and we have to try to help them facilitating that incapacity”.(Psychiatry specialist)
“The psychological sequelae derived from the disease make up the main barrier to RTW, being, moreover, an aspect in which it is difficult to intervene”.(Specialist in occupational medicine)
“(…) Adaptation is beneficial even for the company itself… That gives a very good image, and that good image is what companies also want to have”.(Occupational medicine specialist)
“Even work can be an incentive for recovery, something to which patients cling to in order to overcome the disease…” .(Gynecology specialist)
“I think it is important to always ask the patient how she is doing, what family support she has, because that can completely change the prognosis of how she will evolve”.(Surgical specialist)
“In practice…that is a chimera. However, this gradual reincorporation does not usually take place. Progressive adaptation does not usually exist in private companies”.(Occupational medicine specialist)
“When we receive information from other specialties, we often find that it is very general and does not usually include details that are nevertheless necessary for the adaptation of the position in practice”.
“…The world falls on top of you because it is like looking into an abyss. You don’t know what you are going to find; you know that everything is going to change…”.(Worker with breast cancer)
“It’s like losing your personality”.(Worker with breast cancer)
“I had a terrible time during my sick leave, and it is true that while I was undergoing radiotherapy treatment, I thought it was fine to be on sick leave. But the confinement arrived…and I talked to my colleagues, who were there working from eight to eight in the eight (…) So, I felt very bad, not being there with them”.(Worker with breast cancer)
“It’s not enough that I recovered from cancer, but I came back to the company, and they told me: you’re out and you’re going to start from scratch”.(Worker with breast cancer)
“…She came to talk to me and told me about it calmly. Above all, she was very worried about the time she was going to miss, what the company would think, her colleagues, (…) things that would be on everyone’s mind at the time…”.
“There will be sick people who will benefit from going back to work, and others the opposite way”.
“The peace of mind that nothing is going to happen, neither to me nor to the company, I think that would be a great help to recovery”.
“What is anormal are workers who never take sick leave, and nothing happens to them, but sickness is part of life…”.
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Focus Group | Number | Characteristics |
---|---|---|
Health Professionals | 8 | Different specialties (medical doctors) with experience in the care of women with breast cancer.
|
Working women breast cancer survivors | 6 | Working women diagnosed and treated for non-metastatic breast cancer. |
Company managers | 7 | Human Resources or Occupational Risk Prevention Managers of small, medium, and large companies in which there are workers diagnosed with breast cancer. |
Participant | Age at Diagnose | Marital Status | Sector | Seniority in the Position | Type of Company | Return to Work |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 49 | Single | Administration | 16 years | Big | Yes |
2 | 49 | Single | Commercial | 14 years | Micro | Yes |
3 | 49 | Married | Sanitary | 14 years | Civil servant | Yes |
4 | 45 | Single | Teaching | 6 years | Civil servant | Yes |
5 | 54 | Married | Services | 15 months | Big (public service, temporary work) | No |
6 | 47 | Single | Commercial | 19 years | Big | No |
Participant | Gender | Function | Company Size | Sector |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Woman | HR Management | Big | Biotechnology |
2 | Woman | HR Management | Big | Technology |
3 | Woman | HR Management | Small and medium-sized | Confederation |
4 | Woman | Occupational Risk Prevention | Small and medium-sized | Metal |
5 | Woman | HR Management | Small and medium-sized | Engineering |
6 | Woman | HR Management | Small and medium-sized | Healthcare |
7 | Man | Occupational Risk Prevention | Big | Transport |
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Marinas-Sanz, R.; Iguacel, I.; Maqueda, J.; Mínguez, L.; Alquézar, P.; Andrés, R.; Pérez, E.; Sousa, R.; Moreno-Atahonero, E.; Solé, D.; et al. Facilitating Factors and Barriers in the Return to Work of Working Women Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study. Cancers 2023, 15, 874. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030874
Marinas-Sanz R, Iguacel I, Maqueda J, Mínguez L, Alquézar P, Andrés R, Pérez E, Sousa R, Moreno-Atahonero E, Solé D, et al. Facilitating Factors and Barriers in the Return to Work of Working Women Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study. Cancers. 2023; 15(3):874. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030874
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarinas-Sanz, Rebeca, Isabel Iguacel, Jerónimo Maqueda, Laura Mínguez, Paula Alquézar, Raquel Andrés, Esther Pérez, Ramón Sousa, Elena Moreno-Atahonero, Dolors Solé, and et al. 2023. "Facilitating Factors and Barriers in the Return to Work of Working Women Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Study" Cancers 15, no. 3: 874. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15030874