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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03666936

Facilitate the Return to Work of Cancer Survivors

Cancer patients could experience physical limitations, cognitive symptoms, fatigue and pain, that could be perceived at diagnosis but may also occur during treatment, limiting the person from carrying out their activities of daily living, including work tasks. Return to work is a major goal, as it facilitates the patient's ability to deal with the disease and improve general health.

At present, there is no path aimed at supporting cancer patients in the return to work process. Because of this, the investigators want to assess the feasibility of a multidisciplinary social-health care pathway aimed at manage the difficulties that cancer patients might perceive in the return to work process.

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Key information

Conditions

Neoplasms Return to Work

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Local Health Authority of Reggio Emilia-IRCCS

Reggio Emilia, Italy

About this study

To receive the support from the social-health care pathway, cancer survivors should go to an information desk service (called Informa Salute) located in the hospital. Here, sociodemographic and work-related data will be collected with the aim to organize the tailored social-health support to facilitate the return to work.

The social-health care pathway created includes: the local Health Authority of Reggio Emilia and the local Order of Physicians, voluntary non-profit associations, vocational and educational training bodies, social cooperatives, one labor union and one chartered accountant enterprise.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • adults with cancer diagnosis and employed at the time of diagnosis

Exclusion criteria

-

Treatment and study plan

Social-health care intervention

Other

Cancer survivors enrolled in the study could receive support from the Occupational Therapist and/or from the social care professionist to overcome the difficulties encounter at work or to facilitate work reintegration.

Primary outcomes

  1. number, type and duration of intervention provided (information, occupational therapy, social support) and, for those who have been offered the involvement of the employer, the number of those who have accepted this intervention (Feasibility indicator_1)

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    all the needs expressed by cancer patients and the related social-healthcare actions implemented will be recorded. To evaluate the feasibility of the social-healthcare pathway we will record the actions implemented successfully as well as the actions not implemented or ineffective.

Secondary outcomes

  1. difficulties faced by cancer patients in the return to work process, collected by a guided interview (Feasibility indicator_2).

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    the difficulties arising from the guided interview will be analyzed qualitatively and categorized into emerging themes.

  2. ratio of cancer patients who have returned to work/not returned to work (Feasibility indicator_3).

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    we will calculate the ratio among cancer patients who received only information support and among those who received information support and occupational therapy.

  3. number of healthcare providers directly informed about UNAMANO (Feasibility indicator_4).

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    during the project, training events and meetings were organized with the aim to inform all the healthcare professionals of the AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia involved in the care and management of cancer patients about UNAMANO project.

  4. number of healthcare professionals who refer patients to UNAMANO (Feasibility indicator_5).

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    during the project, training events and meetings were organized with the aim to inform all the healthcare professionals of the AUSL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia involved in the care and management of cancer patients about UNAMANO project.

  5. number of individuals that contact In-Forma Salute to seek information regarding UNAMANO without being referred by a healthcare professional (Feasibility indicator_6).

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    we have distributed flyers in the hospitals throughout the Province, launched the website of the project and published news in local and national newspapers and on social media in order to raise awareness and provide information to the local community regarding UNAMANO.

  6. number of volunteers informed about UNAMANO and recruited by UNAMANO (Feasibility indicator_7).

    Time frame: through study completion, on average 24 months.

    we organize training events to recruit volunteers willing to support UNAMANO project.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Azienda USL Reggio Emilia - IRCCS

Other Gov

Registry information

Official study title

A Social-Healthcare Pathway to Facilitate Return to Work of Cancer Survivors in Italy: Implementation Process of the UNAMANO Project

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2021
First posted
Sep 12, 2018
Registry last updated
Jun 13, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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