Trial Review

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Trial registered on ANZCTR


Registration number
ACTRN12611000530921
Ethics application status
Approved
Date submitted
10/05/2011
Date registered
23/05/2011
Date last updated
23/05/2011
Type of registration
Retrospectively registered

Titles & IDs
Public title
Work life after a primary diagnosis of colorectal cancer: major disruption or work as usual?
Scientific title
Comparing employment outcomes among middle-aged workers with or without colorectal cancer.
Secondary ID [1] 262144 0
nil
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
nil
Trial acronym
WACS (Working After Cancer Study)
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Colorectal cancer 265822 0
Condition category
Condition code
Cancer 265978 265978 0 0
Bowel - Back passage (rectum) or large bowel (colon)
Public Health 268073 268073 0 0
Epidemiology

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Observational
Patient registry
Target follow-up duration
Target follow-up type
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
Adult men and women Queensland residents aged 45-64 years, diagnosed with colorectal cancer and working in paid employment at the time of diagnosis. The exposure is work participation over 12 months.
Intervention code [1] 264558 0
Not applicable
Comparator / control treatment
Adult men and women Australian residents aged 45-64 years working in paid employment and participating in the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia study. The data was collected during 2009-2010.
Control group
Historical

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 266722 0
Employment status, work hours and self-reported disability/limitations affecting ability to work. The outcomes are assessed via telephone and postal questionnaires using validated data items from Australian government surveys (e.g. ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS 1999 Survey of Living Standards) and the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire.
Timepoint [1] 266722 0
6 and 12 months post-diagnosis of colorectal cancer
Secondary outcome [1] 276256 0
Factors affecting work participation and time to work re-entry assessed with validated tools during telephone and postal questionnaires. The tools include the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale and items on work circumstances using Australian government surveys (e.g. ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS 1999 Survey of Living Standards) along with standard questions on socio-demographic information.
Timepoint [1] 276256 0
6 and 12 months post-diagnosis of colorectal cancer

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
Recently diagnosed with a primary colorectal cancer
Histologically confirmed diagnosis notified to Queensland Cancer Registry
Residing in Queensland
Men and women aged 45-64 years
Working in paid employment at time of diagnosis
Minimum age
45 Years
Maximum age
64 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
No
Key exclusion criteria
No previous or concurrent cancers (except basal or squamous cell carcinomas)
Does not speak English
Does not have a telephone

Study design
Purpose
Psychosocial
Duration
Longitudinal
Selection
Case control
Timing
Both
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Recruiting
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
2/02/2011
Actual
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Actual
Sample size
Target
280
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)

Funding & Sponsors
Funding source category [1] 265038 0
Government body
Name [1] 265038 0
Australian Research Council - Discovery Project Grant
Country [1] 265038 0
Australia
Primary sponsor type
University
Name
Griffith University
Address
Centre for Applied Health Economics
Logan Campus
University Dr
Meadowbrook Qld 4131
Country
Australia
Secondary sponsor category [1] 264140 0
Other
Name [1] 264140 0
Queensland Institute of Medical Research
Address [1] 264140 0
Cancer and Population Health Studies
300 Herston Rd
HERSTON Qld 4006
Country [1] 264140 0
Australia
Other collaborator category [1] 251988 0
University
Name [1] 251988 0
Queensland University of Technology
Address [1] 251988 0
Victoria Park Rd
Kelvin Grove Qld 4059
Country [1] 251988 0
Australia

Ethics approval
Ethics application status
Approved
Ethics committee name [1] 267032 0
Queensland Institute of Medical Research Human Research Ethics Committee
Ethics committee address [1] 267032 0
300 Herston Rd
HERSTON Qld 4006
Ethics committee country [1] 267032 0
Australia
Date submitted for ethics approval [1] 267032 0
Approval date [1] 267032 0
05/10/2009
Ethics approval number [1] 267032 0
P1128

Summary
Brief summary
Cancer affects 1 in 6 Australian adults of working age yet we know very little about the impact of a cancer diagnosis on their future working life. It has been estimated that up to 60% of workers diagnosed with cancer will not return to work and, while many people do successfully resume their work activities after cancer, many experience delayed and difficult work re-entry, forced retirement, workplace discrimination and impaired ability to work. Loss of skilled people from the workforce is an important issue not only for individuals and families dealing with cancer but also for Australia’s future productivity. This research addresses the work experiences of a large group of middle-aged individuals who are in the labour force when they are diagnosed with colorectal cancer compared to a matched, general-population reference group.
Trial website
nil
Trial related presentations / publications
nil
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 32595 0
Address 32595 0
Country 32595 0
Phone 32595 0
Fax 32595 0
Email 32595 0
Contact person for public queries
Name 15842 0
Caroline Jaremczuk
Address 15842 0
Cancer and Population Health Studies
Queensland Institute of Medical Research
300 Herston Rd
Herston Qld 4006
Country 15842 0
Australia
Phone 15842 0
+61 7 3845 3558
Fax 15842 0
Email 15842 0
Caroline.Jaremczuk@qimr.edu.au
Contact person for scientific queries
Name 6770 0
Louisa Gordon
Address 6770 0
Griffith University
Logan Campus
University Dr
Meadowbrook Qld 4131
Country 6770 0
Australia
Phone 6770 0
+61 7 3382 1320
Fax 6770 0
Email 6770 0
Louisa.Gordon@griffith.edu.au

No information has been provided regarding IPD availability


What supporting documents are/will be available?

No Supporting Document Provided


Results publications and other study-related documents

Documents added manually
No documents have been uploaded by study researchers.

Documents added automatically
SourceTitleYear of PublicationDOI
Dimensions AIThe Working After Cancer Study (WACS): a population-based study of middle-aged workers diagnosed with colorectal cancer and their return to work experiences2011https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-604
Dimensions AIThe return to work experiences of middle-aged Australian workers diagnosed with colorectal cancer: a matched cohort study2014https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-963
N.B. These documents automatically identified may not have been verified by the study sponsor.