[Work Participation after Multimodal Rehabilitation due to Cancer: Representative Analyses using Routine Data of the...

Cancer diseases are associated with multiple physical, psychosocial, and occupational burdens that jeopardize work participation and must be specifically addressed with rehabilitative interventions. This study addressed the following questions regarding cancer patients whose rehabilitation was covered by German Pension Insurance (GPI): (a) What socio-medical risks existed prior to rehabilitation, (b) how well persons were able to return to work after rehabilitation, and (c) what conditions determined work participation?

We used the rehabilitation statistics database of the German Pension Insurance and included patients with completed medical rehabilitation due to cancer in 2017. Analyses were carried out for the entire group as well as for those differentiated according to their tumor sites (breast, prostate, colon and lung). Work participation was operationalized both via a monthly state up to 24 months after rehabilitation discharge and as a rate of all persons who were employed 12 or 24 months and the 3 preceding months (stable work participation). For the analysis of the influencing factors on stable work participation, multiple logistic regression models with stepwise inclusion were calculated separately for the rates after 12 and 24 months.

A total of 63,587 data sets were included in the analysis (breast cancer: n=20,545, 32%; prostate: n=6,434, 10%; colon: n=4,727, 7%; lung: n=2,866, 5%). Of the rehabilitation participants 55% (lung), 49% (colon), 46% (breast), and 13% (prostate) had sickness absences of six or more months in the year before rehabilitation. Two years after rehabilitation, return-to-work rates were 66% (breast), 54% (prostate), 50% (colon), and 24% (lung). The strongest factors influencing stable work participation were time of sick leave, wage before rehabilitation and age.

Two years after cancer rehabilitation, 5 to 6 out of 10 persons returned to stable work participation. Relevant influencing factors were the length of sick leave and wages prior to cancer rehabilitation. The results suggest inclusion of more work-related aspects in cancer rehabilitation and greater suppor, especially in the first year post-rehabilitation.