Employment and insurance outcomes and factors associated with employment among long-term thyroid cancer survivors: a population-based study from the PROFILES registry

• Published in: Quality of life research 2016-04, Vol.25 (4), p.997-1005
• Main Authors: Tamminga, S. J., Bültmann, U., Husson, O., Kuijpens, J. L. P., Frings-Dresen, M. H. W., de Boer, A. G. E. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Aged; Anxiety; Cancer; Cancer therapies; CLINICAL AND POLICY APPLICATIONS; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Depressive disorders; Educational attainment; Educational Status; Employment; Employment - statistics & numerical data; Fatigue; Female; Global health; Health insurance; Humans; Insurance, Health - statistics & numerical data; Insurance, Life - statistics & numerical data; Life insurance; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medical prognosis; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Mortgage insurance; Netherlands; Patients; Population; Population-based studies; Public Health; Quality of Life; Quality of Life Research; Questionnaires; Registries; Research Design; Sociodemographics; Sociology; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Survivors - statistics & numerical data; Thyroid cancer; Thyroid Neoplasms - therapy; Unemployment - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1007/s11136-015-1135-z

Purpose To obtain insight into employment and insurance outcomes of thyroid cancer survivors and to examine the association between not having employment and other factors including quality of life. Methods In this cross-sectional population-based study, long-term thyroid cancer survivors from the Netherlands participated. Clinical data were collected from the cancer registry. Information on employment, insurance, sociodemographic characteristics, long-term side effects, and quality of life was collected with questionnaires. Results Of the 223 cancer survivors (response rate 87 %), 71 % were employed. Of the cancer survivors who tried to obtain insurance, 6 % reported problems with obtaining health care insurance, 62 % with life insurance, and 16 % with a mortgage. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, higher age (OR 1.07, CI 1.02—1.11), higher level of fatigue (OR 1.07, CI 1.01—1.14), and lower educational level (OR 3.22, CI 1.46—7.09) were associated with not having employment. Employment was associated with higher quality of life. Conclusions Many thyroid cancer survivors face problems when obtaining a life insurance, and older, fatigued, and lower educated thyroid cancer survivors may be at risk for not having employment.