TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lo, Jonathon
AU  - Ballurkar, Kieran
AU  - Fox, Simonie
AU  - Tynan, Kate
AU  - Luu, Nghiep
AU  - Boyer, Michael
AU  - Murali-Ganesh, Raghav
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/11/23
TI  - A Digital Coaching Intervention for Cancer Survivors With Job Loss: Retrospective Study
JO  - JMIR Cancer
SP  - e31966
VL  - 7
IS  - 4
KW  - cancer survivors
KW  - employment
KW  - absenteeism
KW  - mobile app
KW  - software
KW  - return to work
AB  - Background: Returning to work is a key unmet need for working-age cancer survivors. Objective: This study sought to evaluate return-to-work outcomes of a multidisciplinary intervention provided as routine employee support. Methods: In a retrospective cohort analysis, patients with cancer and more than 3 months of absence from work were provided with an intervention consisting of digital resources and calls with a health coach. Propensity score matching was used to define a similar cohort of cancer patients absent from work, who were not offered the coaching intervention. The return-to-work rate as a percentage of all participants and secondary outcomes, such as the rate of death, were measured. The median time to return to work was compared between the cohorts using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: A total of 220 participants were enrolled in the intervention, of which 125 met the criteria for analysis. The median follow-up from cancer diagnosis was 79 weeks (IQR 60-106 weeks). In the matched control group, 22 (17.6%) participants returned to work compared with 38 (30.4%) in the intervention group (P=.02). Additionally, 19 (15.2%) matched controls died prior to claim closure compared with 13 (10.4%) in the intervention group (P=.26). The Kaplan-Meier estimated median time for the first 15% of the cohort to return to work was 87.1 weeks (95% CI 60.0-109.1 weeks) for the matched control group compared with 70.6 weeks (95% CI 52.6-79.6 weeks; P=.08) for the intervention group. Conclusions: Patients receiving a remotely delivered coaching program in a real-world setting returned to work at a higher frequency than did control participants receiving usual care. 
SN  - 2369-1999
UR  - https://cancer.jmir.org/2021/4/e31966
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/31966
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34710853
DO  - 10.2196/31966
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/31966
ER  -