Educational Intervention for Reducing Work Disability in Breast Cancer Survivors

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Determine the feasibility and usability of the Work Ability Improvement Through Symptom Management and Ergonomic Strategies (WISE) and empirically evaluate its effect on short-term work ability among breast cancer survivors (BCS).

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Explore individual and workplace factors associated with work ability in BCS.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

ARM I: Patients receive access to the WISE web-based educational intervention to help BCS manage their symptoms, identify ergonomic workplace problems and risks, and implement ergonomic modifications. Patients also receive standard of care comprising symptom management therapies and a pamphlet on employment rights.

ARM II: Patients receive standard of care comprising symptom management therapies and a pamphlet on employment rights.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 3 and 6 months.

• internet-based intervention (Other): Receive access to the WISE web-based educational intervention
• management of therapy complications (Procedure), also known as complications of therapy, management of: Receive standard of care
• educational intervention (Other), also known as intervention, educational: Receive access to the WISE web-based educational intervention
• questionnaire administration (Other): Ancillary studies
• quality-of-life assessment (Procedure), also known as quality of life assessment: Ancillary studies

Primary outcomes

• Usability of the WISE website as assessed by responses to a 5-point Likert scale [3 months]: The primary analysis of the effect of the WISE intervention on work ability will be performed using a Wilcoxon rank sum test.
• Usability of the WISE website as assessed by responses to a 5-point Likert scale [6 months]: The primary analysis of the effect of the WISE intervention on work ability will be performed using a Wilcoxon rank sum test.
• Work ability, assessed by the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) [Baseline]
• Work ability, assessed by the WLQ [3 months]
• Work ability, assessed by the WLQ [6 months]
• Individual factors, including symptoms assessed using the Symptom Bother-Revised scale (SB-R) and MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), socio-demographic factors, individual disease factors, and treatment factors [Baseline]
• Individual factors, including symptoms assessed using the SB-R and MDASI, socio-demographic factors, individual disease factors, and treatment factors [3 months]
• Individual factors, including symptoms assessed using the SB-R and MDASI, socio-demographic factors, individual disease factors, and treatment factors [6 months]
• Workplace factors, including work history, job characteristics, job control, job support, and level of job stress using the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) [Baseline]
• Workplace factors, including work history, job characteristics, job control, job support, and level of job stress using the JCQ [3 months]
• Workplace factors, including work history, job characteristics, job control, job support, and level of job stress using the JCQ [6 months]

Secondary outcomes

• Feasibility measures, including participation/dropout rates, patient satisfaction, usability/satisfaction with WISE, knowledge/use of self-care symptom management/ergonomic strategies, and use of ergonomic/symptom management strategies, and barriers [Up to 6 months]
• Self-car symptom management strategies used (if any), workplace strategies implemented, and barriers to implementation [Up to 6 months]
• Individuals self-reported work ability, using the Work Ability Index (WAI) [Up to 6 months]
• Employment status [Up to 6 months]
• Change in job performance or difficulty performing work tasks [Baseline to 6 months]

Sex: Female, ages: 25 Years to 64 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Diagnosed with breast cancer
* Employed at time of cancer diagnosis (defined as paid employment > 20 hours/week)
* Within six months of completion of active treatment
* Working during treatment or intending to return to work following active treatment
* Computer and internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who do not intend to continue/resume working following treatment
* Develop distant metastases or progressive disease
* Prior diagnosis of malignancy at any other site except for in situ carcinomas of the cervix or non-melanomatous skin cancers

• Mary Sesto, Principal investigator, University of Wisconsin, Madison