Sustainable work after cancer: Exploring long-term journeys from a salutogenic perspective

• Published in: Skriftserien fra Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge 2023
• Main Author: Brusletto, Birgit
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: arbeid; Kreft

Introduction: Research on the impact of cancer on people's work-life has shown that the majority of persons who survive cancer (PSC) are successful in their return to work (RTW). However, almost a third of employed individuals of working age fall out of work during the first six years after cancer treatment. Retaining work after cancer is dependent on cancer-related, work-related, and personal factors. Those who have had a tendency to fall out of work are those who have experienced severe cancer treatment or those who have physically demanding work. Factors such as high age, being a woman, and low education or income level, have also moderated the likeliness for RTW. Still, little has been done to investigate successful RTW after cancer and the critical resources to make that happen. Also, previous research on RTW has mainly included only the initial phases less than five years after cancer. Aim: Our overall aim was to explore RTW experiences in a long-term perspective more than five years after cancer. The aims of the first study were a) to investigate RTW factors and the long-term perspectives involved in sustainable RTW and b) to explore experiences of PSC after they had re-established normality and returned to sustainable work. The second study's aims, derived from the results in the first study, were: a) to explore the tensions experienced by long-term cancer survivors during cancer treatment and RTW and b) to investigate the resources they utilized to resolve the tensions. The third study's aim, also derived from the first study's results, was to describe the patterns of labor-force participation, working hours, job changes, and education for nine consecutive years among women and men who had survived cancer, and to compare those patterns with matched controls. Methods: Three studies were performed and interlinked in this thesis. The first two studies were based on qualitative data and in-depth interviews. Four men and four women aged 42–59 years, who had worked successfully at least three years or more after cancer, participated in eleven interviews, re-interviewing three participants included. The time since their last treatment was nine years on average. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was utilized for the first study. For the second study, the framework of Antonovsky's Salutogenic Model of Health (SMH was used to re-analyze the interview data from the first study. An advisory team of seven members with diverse cancer experiences co