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Effectiveness of a mobile-based return to work program for decent return to work, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life among cancer survivors

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to develop a smartphone mobile application-based supportive return to work (RTW) program for cancer survivors and evaluate its effects on their RTW, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life. This program was developed through a comprehensive process involving literature review, interviews with cancer survivors, and consultations with experts.

Methods

A non-equivalent control group pre- and post-test design was used, with 41 participants assigned to the experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 23) groups based on recruitment timing. The experimental group received a 6-week smartphone mobile application-based supportive RTW program comprising “Counseling and Education” and “Self-Management.” Participants completed assessments of decent RTW, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life at baseline and 6 months later. The experimental group completed an additional post-program completion survey.

Results

During the 6-week program, no experimental group participants dropped out. The program’s impact on decent RTW remains unclear. Fatigue (F = 2.52, p = 0.095) and quality of working life (F = 0.86, p = 0.434) did not show statistically significant differences. However, there was a significant reduction in stress (F = 4.59, p = 0.017).

Conclusion

The smartphone application-based RTW program, focusing on self-management and counseling, effectively reduced participants’ stress levels. To further evaluate the effectiveness of the program, a more diverse range of interventions and ongoing programs should be implemented.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

This study underscores the importance of tailored digital interventions to support the RTW of cancer survivors. The use of mobile smartphone applications allows temporal and spatial flexibility in program participation. Interventions involving various activities should be implemented to ensure ongoing participation.

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Data availability

The data are not publicly available because they contained information that could compromise the privacy of the research participants.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1F1A1048591).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nursing, Chung-Ang University, 84, Heukseok-Ro, Dongjak-Gu, Seoul, 06974, Republic of Korea

    Kisook Kim & Hyohyeon Yoon

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  1. Kisook Kim
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Contributions

Kisook Kim contributed to the study conception and design. The material preparation was performed by Kisook Kim. Kim and Yoon collected and analyzed the data. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Kisook Kim, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hyohyeon Yoon.

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Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of University Chung-Ang (Data 2022.01.14/No. 1041078–202201-HR-001–01).

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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None was obtained because it is inapplicable, given the nature of this study.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

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Kim, K., Yoon, H. Effectiveness of a mobile-based return to work program for decent return to work, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life among cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-024-01570-x

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