Perspectives of Italian Employers Regarding the Return to Work Process of Employees Who Received a Cancer Diagnosis: a Qualitative Study

NCT06994182 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 632/2024/OSS/AUSLRE
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

European Cancer Mission calls attention to the return to work (RTW) of cancer survivors (CSs), as one of the pivotal issues of the cancer continuum that need to be addressed through proper and prompt actions and recommendations. Employers are important stakeholders, as they can provide emotional and practical support, sustain communication during the entire process, and guarantee a gradual work reintegration. In Italy there is lack of knowledge regarding this topic. Thus, further exploration of Italian employers' perspectives on the RTW of employees with cancer should be performed to comprehend their unknown experiences. The aim is to explore the perspectives of employers who dealt with the RTW process of employees who received a cancer diagnosis through a qualitative research design.

Conditions

Cancer Survivors

Keywords

Cancer Survivors; Return to work; Employers; Qualitative Research

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• 1. Open-ended questions of a semi-structured interview to collect the employers experience of the management of the RTW process

  Themes describing how employers managed the RTW process of employees with cancer, of their feeling and thoughts, of what actions did they do, and of the relationships and communication with the other members of the company

  12 months

• Open-ended questions of a semi-structured interview to collect the employers' necessities while supporting the RTW process

  Themes describing what employers require to support employees who receive a cancer diagnosis in the RTW process

  12 months

• Open-ended questions of a semi-structured interview to collect the employers perceived barriers and facilitators while supporting the RTW process

  Themes describing the facilitators and barriers perceived by employers during the RTW process of employees who received a cancer diagnosis. For this outcome, themes will be classified using the Resource Dependence Institutional Cooperation (RDIC) model, developed by Rijk et al. and adjusted by Greidanus et al. (2018).

  12 months

Study Arms (1)

Employers

This cohort includes employers of active companies located in the province of Reggio Emilia. The Chamber of Commerce dell 'Emilia will provide a random list of the active company based on the type of company (profit, non-for-profit), type of sector (i.e., manufacturing, constructions), and number of employees (small, medium, large) to guarantee the representativeness of our context.

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of employers of the province of Reggio Emilia who managed the RTW process of employees with a cancer diagnosis. This population includes employers from companies with diverse characteristics (type of company and sector, and number of employees) to collect the perspectives of employers working in different settings.

You may qualify if:

• employers\* of a company
• being directly involved in managing the RTW process of at least one employee with cancer diagnosis in the last 5 years.
• An employer can be the specific person who represents the company where the employee was working at the time of cancer diagnosis or a person who supported the employee during the sickness absence and the RTW process (e.g., line manager, human resource manager).

You may not qualify if:

• none

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Azienda USL Reggio Emilia - IRCCS: lead
• Amsterdam University Medical Centers (UMC), Location Academic Medical Center (AMC): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Azienda USL IRCCS di Reggio Emilia

Reggio Emilia, RE, 42123, Italy

RECRUITING

Related Publications (5)

• Greidanus MA, de Boer AGEM, de Rijk AE, Tiedtke CM, Dierckx de Casterle B, Frings-Dresen MHW, Tamminga SJ. Perceived employer-related barriers and facilitators for work participation of cancer survivors: A systematic review of employers' and survivors' perspectives. Psychooncology. 2018 Mar;27(3):725-733. doi: 10.1002/pon.4514. Epub 2017 Sep 6.

  PMID: 28753741 BACKGROUND

• Lawler M, De Lorenzo F, Lagergren P, Mennini FS, Narbutas S, Scocca G, Meunier F; European Academy of Cancer Sciences. Challenges and solutions to embed cancer survivorship research and innovation within the EU Cancer Mission. Mol Oncol. 2021 Jul;15(7):1750-1758. doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.13022. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

  PMID: 34053182 BACKGROUND

• Paltrinieri S, Fugazzaro S, Bertozzi L, Bassi MC, Pellegrini M, Vicentini M, Mazzini E, Costi S. Return to work in European Cancer survivors: a systematic review. Support Care Cancer. 2018 Sep;26(9):2983-2994. doi: 10.1007/s00520-018-4270-6. Epub 2018 May 29.

  PMID: 29845421 BACKGROUND

• de Rijk A, Amir Z, Cohen M, Furlan T, Godderis L, Knezevic B, Miglioretti M, Munir F, Popa AE, Sedlakova M, Torp S, Yagil D, Tamminga S, de Boer A. The challenge of return to work in workers with cancer: employer priorities despite variation in social policies related to work and health. J Cancer Surviv. 2020 Apr;14(2):188-199. doi: 10.1007/s11764-019-00829-y. Epub 2019 Nov 22.

  PMID: 31758518 BACKGROUND

• Tiedtke CM, Dierckx de Casterle B, Frings-Dresen MHW, De Boer AGEM, Greidanus MA, Tamminga SJ, De Rijk AE. Employers' experience of employees with cancer: trajectories of complex communication. J Cancer Surviv. 2017 Oct;11(5):562-577. doi: 10.1007/s11764-017-0626-z. Epub 2017 Jul 14.

  PMID: 28710544 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Sara Paltrinieri, PhD, OT

  Azienda USL - IRCCS di Reggio Emilia

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sara Paltrinieri, PhD, OT

CONTACT

0039 0522 522416; sara.paltrinieri@ausl.re.it

Stefania Costi, PhD, PT

CONTACT

0039 0522 522441; stefania.costi@unimore.it

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 20, 2025
• First Posted: May 29, 2025
• Study Start: April 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2027
• Last Updated: August 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IT (1)