Supporting the Return to Work of Breast Cancer Survivors: From a Theoretical to a Clinical Perspective

Bertrand Porro, Mario Campone, Philippe Moreau and Yves Roquelaure
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Bertrand Porro: Univ. Angers, Univ. Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, IRSET (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail)—UMR_S 1085, SFR ICAT, F-49000 Angers, France
Mario Campone: Oncology Department, Institut de Cancérologie de l’Ouest, F-44805 Saint-Herblain, France
Philippe Moreau: University Hospital Hôtel-Dieu, 44000 Nantes, France
Yves Roquelaure: Univ. Angers, Univ. Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, IRSET (Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail)—UMR_S 1085, SFR ICAT, F-49000 Angers, France

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: Promoting the return to work of breast cancer survivors is of major interest to patients, healthcare and occupational health professionals, companies, governments, and researchers worldwide. We previously conducted a French consensus study resulting in a model describing the multifactorial process of the return to work of breast cancer survivors (the REWORK-BC model). Other work has identified the transtheoretical model as a relevant theoretical framework for interventions to promote the return to work of cancer survivors. In this opinion paper, we provide a theoretically-based clinical framework describing how to support breast cancer survivors at each stage of the return-to-work process. This clinical framework considers several essential aspects of supportive care for breast cancer survivors returning to work, such as: (i) helping the patient actively self-manage, by considering her to be the main decision-maker; (ii) respecting and adapting to the patient’s choice of professional project; (iii) respecting the temporality of the patient’s choices; (iv) proposing tailored interventions; (v) implementing simple tools to promote the return to work, shared representation between the patient and a multidisciplinary team, and improvement of working conditions and the knowledge of health and occupational professionals, and managers or employers; and (vi) maintaining certain flexibility aimed at proposing, but never imposing, changes in practices. This clinical framework, specific to breast cancer survivors, could be extrapolated to other tumor types, offering a practical guide for healthcare and occupational health professionals to better understand the return-to-work process of cancer survivors. This clinical framework aims to be a usable tool for any hospital or cancer care center wishing to implement a patient-centered intervention that promotes returning to work, regardless of the country.

Keywords: breast cancer; survivors; return-to-work; clinical framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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