Trial reportPloS one2013
Effectiveness of a hospital-based work support intervention for female cancer patients - a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prognostic factors for return to work in breast cancer survivors.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of work ability interventions on productivity: a systematic review.Journal of occupational health · 2025Pooled it
- Non-medical interventions to enhance return to work for people with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Return to Work Interventions for Cancer Survivors: A Systematic Review and a Methodological Critique.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Return-to-work coordination programmes for improving return to work in workers on sick leave.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Workplace interventions to prevent work disability in workers on sick leave.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Interventions to enhance return-to-work for cancer patients.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015Pooled it
- Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of iCanWork: Theory-Guided Return-to-Work Intervention for Individuals Touched by Cancer.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of Self-Assessment, TAilored Information, and Lifestyle Management for Cancer Patients' Returning to Work (START): A Multi-center, Randomized Controlled Trial.Cancer research and treatment · 2023Trial
- A randomised feasibility trial of an employer-based intervention for enhancing successful return to work of cancer survivors (MiLES intervention).BMC public health · 2021Trial
- Long-term employment status and quality of life after cancer: A longitudinal prospective cohort study from diagnosis up to and including 5 years post diagnosis.Work (Reading, Mass.) · 2020Trial
- Two-Year Follow-Up of a Multi-centre Randomized Controlled Trial to Study Effectiveness of a Hospital-Based Work Support Intervention for Cancer Patients.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2019Trial
- Work-Related Medical Rehabilitation in Cancer: A Cluster-Randomized Multicenter Study.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Return to Work and Multidimensional Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults with Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Mediating role of family and workplace support on health-related quality of life among self-reported young adult cancer survivors: a cross-sectional observational study.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2026Observational
- Observational
- Article
- Effectiveness of a mobile-based return to work program for decent return to work, fatigue, stress, and quality of working life among cancer survivors.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Article
- Value-based healthcare for social insurance medicine: key enablers for adoption in practice.BMJ open quality · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveOne key aspect of cancer survivorship is return-to-work. Unfortunately, many cancer survivors face problems upon their return-to-work. For that reason, we developed a hospital-based work support intervention aimed at enhancing return-to-work. We studied effectiveness of the intervention compared to usual care for female cancer patients in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.
methodsBreast and gynaecological cancer patients who were treated with curative intent and had paid work were randomised to the intervention group (n = 65) or control group (n = 68). The intervention involved patient education and support at the hospital and improvement of communication between treating and occupational physicians. In addition, we asked patient's occupational physician to organise a meeting with the patient and the supervisor to make a concrete gradual return-to-work plan. Outcomes at 12 months of follow-up included rate and time until return-to-work (full or partial), quality of life, work ability, work functioning, and lost productivity costs. Time until return-to-work was analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.
resultsReturn-to-work rates were 86% and 83% (p = 0.6) for the intervention group and control group when excluding 8 patients who died or with a life expectancy of months at follow-up. Median time from initial sick leave to partial return-to-work was 194 days (range 14-435) versus 192 days (range 82-465) (p = 0.90) with a hazard ratio of 1.03 (95% CI 0.64-1.6). Quality of life and work ability improved statistically over time but did not differ statistically between groups. Work functioning and costs did not differ statistically between groups.
conclusionThe intervention was easily implemented into usual psycho-oncological care and showed high return-to-work rates. We failed to show any differences between groups on return-to-work outcomes and quality of life scores. Further research is needed to study which aspects of the intervention are useful and which elements need improvement.
trial registrationNederlands Trial Register (NTR) 1658.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.