Talking to Employers and Medical Staff About Breast Cancer Treatment and Your Job

Conditions

• Breast Cancer

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

FEMALE

Age

18 Years - N/A

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• TEAMWork App — OTHER
  The 2-pronged approach of the intervention is operationalized through 2 menus, 1 focused on interactions with the employer and the other with the clinic team. Each menu has a list of features from which participants can choose to learn about a particular topic. A "My notes" button allows participants to take notes directly on the app. These notes will not be available to the research team, such that participants may use the tool without concerns about privacy. The workplace accommodations menu includes sample videos using trained actors to demonstrate how to approach an employer to request accommodations. Additional features include suggestions for accommodations that may be helpful, templates for letters participants can use when requesting accommodations, links to relevant websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for lawyers and firms that provide pro bono assistance.
• Information Booklet — OTHER
  Participants in the control arm will receive a booklet that includes the information in the app that can practicably be converted to paper. These participants will not have access to the multimedia aspects of the intervention, such as the videos, but they will have all of the relevant information in the app described above, including suggestions for accommodations, written templates for letters, links to websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for pro bono legal assistance. The booklet will also contain information about chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, recommendations for management of common symptoms, and advice for communicating with the clinic team. The information booklet will be provided entirely on paper, although participants may independently access websites recommended in the booklet. The booklet content will mirror the app with regard to cultural responsiveness and appropriateness for different job types and characteristics.

Study Details

The purpose of this study is learn more about how being treated for breast cancer affects patients' employment. Researchers are testing an early version of a mobile app designed to help breast cancer patients keep their jobs during and after treatment. The app provides advice for patients to use when having conversations about breast cancer with their employers and their doctors. The app is called TEAMWork (Talking to Employers And Medical staff about Work). In this study, the investigators are asking breast cancer patients who are about to receive treatment or who are currently receiving treatment to tell us what aspects of the app work well, so that they can learn how to improve it.

Key Dates

Start date

Jun 7, 2018

Status verified

Mar 2026

Primary completion

Jun 30, 2026

Completion

Jun 30, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment

546 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Arms

• Experimental: TEAMWork App
  The 2-pronged approach of the intervention is operationalized through 2 menus, 1 focused on interactions with the employer and the other with the clinic team. Each menu has a list of features from which participants can choose to learn about a particular topic. A "My notes" button allows participants to take notes directly on the app. These notes will not be available to the research team, such that participants may use the tool without concerns about privacy. The workplace accommodations menu includes sample videos using trained actors to demonstrate how to approach an employer to request accommodations. Additional features include suggestions for accommodations that may be helpful, templates for letters participants can use when requesting accommodations, links to relevant websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for lawyers and firms that provide pro bono assistance.
• Active Comparator: Information Booklet (control)
  Participants will receive a booklet that includes the information in the app that can practicably be converted to paper. These participants will not have access to the multimedia aspects of the intervention, such as the videos, but they will have all of the relevant information in the app described above, including suggestions for accommodations, written templates for letters, links to websites, information about legal protections, and contact information for pro bono legal assistance. The booklet will also contain information about chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, recommendations for management of common symptoms, and advice for communicating with the clinic team. The information booklet will be provided entirely on paper, although participants may independently access websites recommended in the booklet. The booklet content will mirror the app with regard to cultural responsiveness and appropriateness for different job types and characteristics.

Primary Outcome Measure

number of participants still employed [ Time Frame: 2 years ]

Central Contacts

• Victoria Blinder, M.D., M.Sc.
  646-888-4808
  [email protected]
• Francesca Gany, M.D., M.Sc.
  646-888-8054

Locations (9)

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