Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of iCanWork: Theory-Guided Return-to-Work Intervention for Individuals Touched by...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Occupational Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Limited effective return-to-work (RTW) interventions exist for individuals touched by cancer (ITBC).
• Existing interventions often lack an integrated work-health approach.
• The iCanWork intervention was developed to address this gap by combining vocational rehabilitation (VR) and occupational therapy (OT).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the iCanWork intervention.
• To explore preliminary work-health outcomes in ITBC participants.
• To inform the design of a larger future trial.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized controlled trial with 23 ITBC participants.
• Intervention group received iCanWork (VR + OT); control group received standard care.
• Feasibility assessed by recruitment, retention, and engagement; acceptability by satisfaction surveys; outcomes by RTW status, Work Ability Index (WAI), and Quality of Life (QoL).

Main Results:

• High feasibility: 92% recruitment, 83% retention, 100% engagement in VR.
• High acceptability: participants rated the intervention as tailored and supportive.
• Preliminary improvements observed in RTW status, WAI scores (+2.54 mean change), and QoL domains (fatigue, social roles, pain interference) compared to control.

Conclusions:

• The iCanWork intervention is feasible and acceptable for ITBC.
• Early findings indicate potential benefits for RTW and QoL.
• Results support further investigation in a larger randomized controlled trial.