Two-Year Follow-Up of a Multi-centre Randomized Controlled Trial to Study Effectiveness of a Hospital-Based Work Support Intervention for Cancer Patients.
S J Tamminga, J H A M Verbeek, M M E M Bos and 5 others
PMID 30778742WHAT IT FOUND
The hospital work support intervention did not improve return-to-work rates or quality of life compared to usual care.
Most patients returned to work by two years. Patients with chemotherapy, low education, or low work ability took longer to return.
Key findings
01Return-to-work rates and time to return to work did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups at two years.
02Receiving chemotherapy, having a lower level of education, and having lower overall work ability predicted a longer time to return to work.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study was underpowered, with only 106 patients analyzed instead of the planned 246, leading to higher uncertainty. There was a selective loss to follow-up of 21%, which may have introduced bias. The sample was limited to breast and gynaecological cancer patients, so results may not apply to other cancer types. Nurses delivered psycho-oncological care to both groups, potentially contaminating the control group with work-related support.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Instituut Gak and European Cooperation in Science and Technology. No specific conflicts of interest were declared by the authors in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the null result as proof that work support is ineffective. The study was underpowered, had significant dropout, and likely suffered from contamination because nurses in the control group may also have provided work-related support. The finding that chemotherapy, low education, and low work ability predict longer time to return is more actionable for identifying at-risk patients.