Women With Breast Cancer Who Work For Accommodating Employers More Likely To Retain Jobs After Treatment.
Breast cancer affects one in eight women across the United States, and low-income minority survivors of breast cancer are at increased risk of job loss, compared to higher-income white survivors. Employer accommodations, such as schedule flexibility, have been associated with job retention in higher-income whites, but the role of such accommodations in job retention among low-income minorities is not well understood. We conducted a longitudinal study of 267 employed women ages 18-64 who were undergoing treatment for early-stage breast cancer and spoke English, Chinese, Korean, or Spanish. We categorized patients by income level and by race/ethnicity. The category with the lowest job retention after treatment was low-income women (57 percent). Job retention varied widely by race/ethnicity, ranging from 68 percent among Chinese women to 98 percent among non-Latina whites. Women who had accommodating employers were more than twice as likely to retain their jobs as those without accommodating employers. Low-income women were less likely than higher-income women to have accommodating employers, however. More uniform implementation of accommodations across low- and high-paying jobs could reduce disparities in employment outcomes among workers with a cancer diagnosis. Additional research is needed to better understand the barriers that employers, particularly those with low-income workers, may face in providing accommodations.
Victoria Blinder (blinderv@mskcc.org) is an assistant attending in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and a medical oncologist in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City.
Victoria
V
Blinder
Carolyn Eberle is an assistant research epidemiologist in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Carolyn
C
Eberle
Sujata Patil is an associate attending in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Sujata
S
Patil
Francesca M. Gany is chief of the Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Francesca M
FM
Gany
Cathy J. Bradley is associate director for population sciences research in the Department of Health Systems, Management, and Policy at the University of Colorado, Denver.
Cathy J
CJ
Bradley
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D011446:Prospective Studies; D062707:Return to Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People
Disparities; Minority Health; Workforce Issues