Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Oct 1;65(10):868-879.
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002931. Epub 2023 Jul 26.

Qualitative Assessment of Perceived Organizational Support for Employed Breast Cancer Survivors

Alicia G Dugan  1 , Ragan E Decker, Hannah L Austin, Sara Namazi, Keith M Bellizzi, Thomas O Blank, William S Shaw, Helen Swede, Martin G Cherniack, Susan H Tannenbaum, Jennifer M Cavallari
Affiliations

Qualitative Assessment of Perceived Organizational Support for Employed Breast Cancer Survivors

Alicia G Dugan et al. J Occup Environ Med. .

Abstract

Objective: A more detailed understanding of unmet organizational support needs and workplace-based best practices for supporting cancer survivors is needed.

Methods: Ninety-four working breast cancer survivors responded to an open-ended survey question regarding the desired types of organizational support that were and were not received during early survivorship. We performed content-analysis of qualitative data.

Results: Major themes included instrumental support, emotional support, and time-based support. The need for flexible arrangements and reduced workloads was mostly met. Unmet needs included navigation/coordination, understanding/empathy, and time off for treatment and recovery.

Conclusions: Organizational support can help cancer survivors manage their health and work roles, diminishing work-health conflict and turnover intent. Study findings can be used to design targeted interventions to fulfill cancer survivors' unmet organizational support needs, which may also apply to workers with other chronic health conditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None declared.

References

    1. Miller KD, Nogueira L, Mariotto AB, et al. Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2019. CA Cancer J Clin. 2019;69:363–385. - PubMed
    1. American Cancer Society. Breast cancer facts & figures 2019–2020. American Cancer Society. 2019;1–44.
    1. Taskila T, Lindbohm ML, Martikainen R, Lehto US, Hakanen J, Hietanen P. Cancer survivors’ received and needed social support from their work place and the occupational health services. Support Care Cancer. 2006;14:427–435. - PubMed
    1. Johnsson A, Fornander T, Rutqvist LE, Vaez M, Alexanderson K, Olsson M. Predictors of return to work ten months after primary breast cancer surgery. Acta Oncol. 2009;48:93–98. - PubMed
    1. Duijts SF, Van Egmond MP, Spelten E, Van Muijen P, Anema JR, van der Beek AJ. Physical and psychosocial problems in cancer survivors beyond return to work: a systematic review. Psychooncology. 2014;23:481–492. - PubMed

Publication types