Return to work after breast cancer: barriers and facilitators

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed neoplasm among women. The incremental advantages obtained in terms of survival make it possible to consider this disease as a chronic disease. Furthermore, the increasing impact on working-age women associated with the increase in the retirement age raises the question of return to work (RTW). Adequate work reintegration is important from a psychological, economic and social point of view. The objective of this study is to investigate the factors implicated in the RTW of women diagnosed with breast cancer according to recent scientific literature. The factors involved in returning to work after breast cancer are classifiable in socio-demographic, medical-clinical, occupational, psychosocial, cognitive and physical activityrelated factors. Among these the most cited are the medicalclinical (treatments, type of cancer, disease-related consequences), work-related (support from colleagues and supervisors, characteristics of work and the workplace) and psychosocial (social support, depression, anxiety) factors. The results obtained allow to have some indications for planning return to work interventions after breast cancer. Future studies are needed to distinguish the implication of factors at each stage of the RTW process in order to plan successful RTW interventions.

Keywords

• Return to work
• breast cancer
• barriers
• facilitators
• predictors