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. 2023;41(2):242-249.
doi: 10.1080/07347332.2022.2090886. Epub 2022 Jun 29.

Work- and school-related distress among patients with cancer: Single-site retrospective chart review

Rachel Forcino  1 , Jonathan Lichtenstein  1   2 , Sivan Rotenberg  2 , Cassandra Godzik  2 , Jenna Schiffelbein  3 , Kali Morrissette  2 , Kathleen Lyons  4
Affiliations

Work- and school-related distress among patients with cancer: Single-site retrospective chart review

Rachel Forcino et al. J Psychosoc Oncol. 2023.

Abstract

Objectives: To (1) describe the prevalence of work- or school-related distress among patients with cancer and (2) compare overall distress among those impacted at work or school to overall distress among those not impacted at work or school.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Participants: All patients visiting the study site March 2016-December 2020 who completed the NCCN Distress Thermometer and Problem List.

Methods: Descriptive statistics examined work- or school-related distress across patient characteristics and compared mean Distress Thermometer scores between patients with and without work- or school-related distress.

Findings: Among 1,760 unique patients, 7.5% reported work- or school-related distress at one or more visits. Rates were highest among patients seen for neurological (14.1%), skin (10.6%), and gastrointestinal (9.2%) cancers. Those reporting work- or school-related distress had higher overall distress scores (mean = 4.76; SD = 2.52) than others (mean = 3.37; SD = 2.92) (g=-0.482; t=-5.327, p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Although the prevalence of work- or school-related distress was low in this sample, the magnitude of this distress emphasizes the importance of having effective resources available for patients with cancer who experience work- or school-related problems.

Implications: More research is needed to understand how well distress screening processes identify and support patients with work- or school-related problems.

Keywords: cancer; distress thermometer; employment; oncology; school.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests

The authors report that they have no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Prevalence of work- or school-related distress across cancer types
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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