{"title":"Effectiveness of a mobile-based return to work program for decent return to work, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life among cancer survivors.","authors":"Kisook Kim, Hyohyeon Yoon","doi":"10.1007/s11764-024-01570-x","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to develop a smartphone mobile application-based supportive return to work (RTW) program for cancer survivors and evaluate its effects on their RTW, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life. This program was developed through a comprehensive process involving literature review, interviews with cancer survivors, and consultations with experts.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A non-equivalent control group pre- and post-test design was used, with 41 participants assigned to the experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 23) groups based on recruitment timing. The experimental group received a 6-week smartphone mobile application-based supportive RTW program comprising \"Counseling and Education\" and \"Self-Management.\" Participants completed assessments of decent RTW, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life at baseline and 6 months later. The experimental group completed an additional post-program completion survey.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the 6-week program, no experimental group participants dropped out. The program's impact on decent RTW remains unclear. Fatigue (F = 2.52, p = 0.095) and quality of working life (F = 0.86, p = 0.434) did not show statistically significant differences. However, there was a significant reduction in stress (F = 4.59, p = 0.017).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The smartphone application-based RTW program, focusing on self-management and counseling, effectively reduced participants' stress levels. To further evaluate the effectiveness of the program, a more diverse range of interventions and ongoing programs should be implemented.</p><p><strong>Implications for cancer survivors: </strong>This study underscores the importance of tailored digital interventions to support the RTW of cancer survivors. The use of mobile smartphone applications allows temporal and spatial flexibility in program participation. Interventions involving various activities should be implemented to ensure ongoing participation.</p>","PeriodicalId":15284,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cancer Survivorship","volume":" ","pages":"713-727"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Cancer Survivorship","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-024-01570-x","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/5/21 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to develop a smartphone mobile application-based supportive return to work (RTW) program for cancer survivors and evaluate its effects on their RTW, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life. This program was developed through a comprehensive process involving literature review, interviews with cancer survivors, and consultations with experts.
Methods: A non-equivalent control group pre- and post-test design was used, with 41 participants assigned to the experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 23) groups based on recruitment timing. The experimental group received a 6-week smartphone mobile application-based supportive RTW program comprising "Counseling and Education" and "Self-Management." Participants completed assessments of decent RTW, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life at baseline and 6 months later. The experimental group completed an additional post-program completion survey.
Results: During the 6-week program, no experimental group participants dropped out. The program's impact on decent RTW remains unclear. Fatigue (F = 2.52, p = 0.095) and quality of working life (F = 0.86, p = 0.434) did not show statistically significant differences. However, there was a significant reduction in stress (F = 4.59, p = 0.017).
Conclusion: The smartphone application-based RTW program, focusing on self-management and counseling, effectively reduced participants' stress levels. To further evaluate the effectiveness of the program, a more diverse range of interventions and ongoing programs should be implemented.
Implications for cancer survivors: This study underscores the importance of tailored digital interventions to support the RTW of cancer survivors. The use of mobile smartphone applications allows temporal and spatial flexibility in program participation. Interventions involving various activities should be implemented to ensure ongoing participation.
期刊介绍:
Cancer survivorship is a worldwide concern. The aim of this multidisciplinary journal is to provide a global forum for new knowledge related to cancer survivorship. The journal publishes peer-reviewed papers relevant to improving the understanding, prevention, and management of the multiple areas related to cancer survivorship that can affect quality of care, access to care, longevity, and quality of life. It is a forum for research on humans (both laboratory and clinical), clinical studies, systematic and meta-analytic literature reviews, policy studies, and in rare situations case studies as long as they provide a new observation that should be followed up on to improve outcomes related to cancer survivors. Published articles represent a broad range of fields including oncology, primary care, physical medicine and rehabilitation, many other medical and nursing specialties, nursing, health services research, physical and occupational therapy, public health, behavioral medicine, psychology, social work, evidence-based policy, health economics, biobehavioral mechanisms, and qualitative analyses. The journal focuses exclusively on adult cancer survivors, young adult cancer survivors, and childhood cancer survivors who are young adults. Submissions must target those diagnosed with and treated for cancer.