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Survey of return to work of head and neck cancer survivors: A report from a tertiary cancer center in India
Author(s) -
Agarwal Jaiprakash,
Krishnatry Rahul,
Chaturvedi Pankaj,
Ghosh–Laskar Sarbani,
Gupta Tejpal,
Budrukkar Ashwani,
Murthy Vedang,
Deodhar Joyita,
Nair Deepa,
Nair Sudhir,
Dikshit Rajesh,
D'Cruz Anil K.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.24703
Subject(s) - medicine , head and neck cancer , quality of life (healthcare) , cancer , cohort , physical therapy , gerontology , nursing
Background The rates and factors associated with the return to work of head and neck cancer survivors from low‐ and middle‐income countries, such as India, are largely unknown. Methods We conducted a preliminary cross‐sectional survey of 250 consecutive eligible head and neck cancer survivors (age <60; ≥6 months posttreatment) to identify return to work rates and sociodemographic, clinical, and quality of life (QOL; European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire‐Core 30‐questions [EORTC‐QLQ‐C30] and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire‐Core 30 Head and Neck 35‐questions [EORTC‐QLQ–H&N35]) correlates. Results In our cohort, 92.4% of the patients were employed pretreatment, 65.6% and 81.2% returned to work at 6 months posttreatment and by the time of the survey (median follow‐up 19 months), respectively. Family structure (<2 male children, p = .008; eldest child age <20 years, p = .04), a higher level of education (vocational or professional training, p = .013) and female sex ( p = .001) were associated with higher return to work. Head and neck cancer survivors who returned to work had better global quality of life (QOL; p = .014) and less coughing ( p = .001) but more problems related to sticky saliva ( p = .004). Conclusion Further studies are needed to address the large unmet needs regarding identification and amelioration of barriers to return to work for head and neck cancer survivors in low‐ and middle‐income countries, such as India. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 893–899, 2017