Talking to Employers and Medical Staff About Breast Cancer Treatment and Your Job
Breast Cancer and the Workforce: Talking to Employers and Medical Staff About Work (TEAMWork)
1 other identifier
interventional
546
1 country
9
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is learn more about how being treated for breast cancer affects patients' employment. Researchers are testing an early version of a mobile app designed to help breast cancer patients keep their jobs during and after treatment. The app provides advice for patients to use when having conversations about breast cancer with their employers and their doctors. The app is called TEAMWork (Talking to Employers And Medical staff about Work). In this study, the investigators are asking breast cancer patients who are about to receive treatment or who are currently receiving treatment to tell us what aspects of the app work well, so that they can learn how to improve it.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable breast-cancer
Started Jun 2018
Longer than P75 for not_applicable breast-cancer
9 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
June 7, 2018
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
June 8, 2018
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
June 28, 2018
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
June 1, 2026
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
June 1, 2026
March 24, 2026
March 1, 2026
8 years
June 8, 2018
March 20, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
number of participants still employed
Talking to Employers and Medical Staff About Work (TEAMWork) the mobile application (app) is designed to educate patients and improve their communication skills with their employers and their oncology providers, thereby increasing access to work accommodations and optimizing symptom control during treatment. By increasing patients" ability to work during treatment, we believe the app will help them retain their jobs.
2 years
Study Arms (2)
TEAMWork App
EXPERIMENTALThe 2-pronged approach of the intervention is operationalized through 2 menus, 1 focused on interactions with the employer and the other with the clinic team. Each menu has a list of features from which participants can choose to learn about a particular topic. A "My notes" button allows participants to take notes directly on the app. These notes will not be available to the research team, such that participants may use the tool without concerns about privacy. The workplace accommodations menu includes sample videos using trained actors to demonstrate how to approach an employer to request accommodations. Additional features include suggestions for accommodations that may be helpful, templates for letters participants can use when requesting accommodations, links to relevant websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for lawyers and firms that provide pro bono assistance.
Information Booklet (control)
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants will receive a booklet that includes the information in the app that can practicably be converted to paper. These participants will not have access to the multimedia aspects of the intervention, such as the videos, but they will have all of the relevant information in the app described above, including suggestions for accommodations, written templates for letters, links to websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for pro bono legal assistance. The booklet will also contain information about chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, recommendations for management of common symptoms, and advice for communicating with the clinic team. The information booklet will be provided entirely on paper, although participants may independently access websites recommended in the booklet. The booklet content will mirror the app with regard to cultural responsiveness and appropriateness for different job types and characteristics.
Interventions
The 2-pronged approach of the intervention is operationalized through 2 menus, 1 focused on interactions with the employer and the other with the clinic team. Each menu has a list of features from which participants can choose to learn about a particular topic. A "My notes" button allows participants to take notes directly on the app. These notes will not be available to the research team, such that participants may use the tool without concerns about privacy. The workplace accommodations menu includes sample videos using trained actors to demonstrate how to approach an employer to request accommodations. Additional features include suggestions for accommodations that may be helpful, templates for letters participants can use when requesting accommodations, links to relevant websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for lawyers and firms that provide pro bono assistance.
Participants in the control arm will receive a booklet that includes the information in the app that can practicably be converted to paper. These participants will not have access to the multimedia aspects of the intervention, such as the videos, but they will have all of the relevant information in the app described above, including suggestions for accommodations, written templates for letters, links to websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for pro bono legal assistance. The booklet will also contain information about chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, recommendations for management of common symptoms, and advice for communicating with the clinic team. The information booklet will be provided entirely on paper, although participants may independently access websites recommended in the booklet. The booklet content will mirror the app with regard to cultural responsiveness and appropriateness for different job types and characteristics.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- History of a cancer diagnosis
- At least 18 years of age
- Male or Female
- The ability to give informed consent in English or Spanish
- Able to use and read a smartphone (iPhone or Android)
- Has a smartphone (iPhone or Android)
- At least 18 years of age
- Male or Female
- The ability to give informed consent in English or Spanish
- Able to use and read a smartphone (iPhone or Android)
- Has a smartphone (iPhone or Android)
- Completed chemotherapy treatment for stage I-III breast cancer.
- Age 18 to 64 (inclusive)
- Female
- Paid employment (full time or part time) in the three months prior to diagnosis or at time of consent to MSK protocol #10-071 (PI: Blinder)
- +14 more criteria
You may not qualify if:
- Stage 0 breast cancer (DCIS only)
- Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer
- Recurrence with metastases of breast cancer
- Participants or family members who are participating in MSK IHCD studies related to social determinants of health
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (9)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Consent and Follow-up)
Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Consent and Follow-up)
Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Consent and Follow up)
Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Consent and Follow-up)
Harrison, New York, 10604, United States
Queens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital
Jamaica, New York, 11432, United States
Bellevue Hospital Center (Data Collection Only)
New York, New York, 10016, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
The Bronx, New York, 10451, United States
Montefiore Medical Center
The Bronx, New York, 10467, United States
Related Publications (1)
Blinder VS, Patil S, Finik J, Makower D, Muppidi M, Lichtenthal WG, Parker PA, Claros M, Suarez J, Narang B, Gany F. An interactive mobile application versus an educational booklet to promote job retention in women undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2022 Oct 3;23(1):840. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06580-7.
PMID: 36192754DERIVED
Related Links
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Victoria Blinder, M.D., M.Sc.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- SUPPORTIVE CARE
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
June 8, 2018
First Posted
June 28, 2018
Study Start
June 7, 2018
Primary Completion (Estimated)
June 1, 2026
Study Completion (Estimated)
June 1, 2026
Last Updated
March 24, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-03