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.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
546
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.
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.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Consent and Follow-up)
Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States
RECRUITINGMemorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Consent and Follow-up)
Middletown, New Jersey, United States
RECRUITINGMemorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Consent and Follow up)
Montvale, New Jersey, United States
RECRUITINGMemorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Consent and Follow-up)
Harrison, New York, United States
RECRUITINGQueens Cancer Center of Queens Hospital
Jamaica, New York, United States
RECRUITINGBellevue Hospital Center (Data Collection Only)
New York, New York, United States
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States
RECRUITINGLincoln Medical and Mental Health Center
The Bronx, New York, United States
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGMontefiore Medical Center
The Bronx, New York, United States
RECRUITINGnumber of participants still employed
Talking to Employers and Medical Staff About Work (TEAMWork) the mobile application (app) is designed to educate patients and improve their communication skills with their employers and their oncology providers, thereby increasing access to work accommodations and optimizing symptom control during treatment. By increasing patients" ability to work during treatment, we believe the app will help them retain their jobs.
Time frame: 2 years
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.