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Employment-related Education and Support for Cancer Survivors: a Content Analysis of Employment Resources Offered on National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center Websites

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Abstract

High rates of employment changes and associated concerns among cancer survivors following diagnosis and treatment suggest a need to examine what employment-related educational resources and support are currently being offered to cancer survivors and what gaps exist in those resources. In 2023, we conducted a content analysis of employment resources described on the websites of the NCI-Designated Cancer Centers that provide clinical care (N = 64) through a systematic review procedure using predetermined search terms and a standardized process to examine the availability and accessibility of such resources. Descriptive analyses were conducted to characterize the employment resources identified. In total, 175 employment resources were identified across 49 cancer center websites; 102 (58%) provided patient-facing education/information, 58 (33%) offered a consultation, 14 (8%) offered support groups/classes, and 1 (1%) was classified as “Other.” Most (76%) resources were provided internally by the cancer center, and often, more than one discipline was involved, most commonly social work and medicine. These findings are encouraging as they suggest that most (77%) NCI-Designated Cancer Centers recognize employment support as a component of survivorship care. The multidisciplinary nature of the resources identified is supported by moderate evidence that multidisciplinary interventions appear to have the greatest potential to foster a return to work for cancer survivors and align with suggestions made by recent expert groups and guidelines regarding employment support for cancer survivors. Ongoing work is needed to assess the utilization, impact, and equity of available employment resources to optimize work outcomes among cancer survivors.

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Data Availability

Data is available upon request: swechsler@mghihp.edu.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Occupational Therapy, MGH Institute of Health Professions, 36 First Avenue, Boston, MA, 02129, USA

    Stephen Wechsler, Michele Ma, Kristen Elizabeth Laws, Haley Naticchioni, Kaitlin Flannery, Alison Coleman & Kathleen Lyons

  2. Division of Hematology Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Areej El-Jawahri

Authors
  1. Stephen Wechsler
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  2. Michele Ma
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  3. Areej El-Jawahri
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  4. Kristen Elizabeth Laws
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  5. Haley Naticchioni
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  6. Kaitlin Flannery
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  7. Alison Coleman
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  8. Kathleen Lyons
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Stephen Wechsler, Michele Ma, Kristen Elizabeth Laws, Haley Naticchioni, Kaitlin Flannery, Allison Coleman, and Kathleen Lyons. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Stephen Wechsler, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Stephen Wechsler.

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Wechsler, S., Ma, M., El-Jawahri, A. et al. Employment-related Education and Support for Cancer Survivors: a Content Analysis of Employment Resources Offered on National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center Websites. J Canc Educ 39, 139–146 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-023-02386-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-023-02386-6

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