Status quo of adaptability to return-to-work among female teachers with post-operative breast cancer and its influencing factors

  Objective  To evaluate the adaptability of female teachers with breast cancer who returned to work after surgery in Xinjiang and to analyze the influencing factors so as to provide a scientific basis for female teachers with cancer to better return to work.

  Methods  A convenience sampling method was used to investigate the female teachers who had returned to work after breast cancer surgery from 2019 to 2021, with the questionnaires including the general information questionnaire, the adaptation scale for returning to work for cancer patients, the simplified scale for fear of disease progression for cancer patients, and the social support scale. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the influencing factors of patients' adaptability to return to work.

  Results  Totally 200 female teachers with breast cancer after surgery were investigated. The scores of adaptability to return-to-work and fear of disease progression were (60.19 ±10.98) and (32.18 ±6.19), respectively, while the score of social support was(37.08 ±8.14). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the scores of adaptability to return-to-work of patients with undergraduate and master's degree education increased by 1.063 and 1.156, respectively, compared with patients with junior college degrees and/or below. Compared with patients who underwent mastectomy, the score of adaptability to return-to-work of patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery increased by 2.136 points, and that of front-line teachers decreased by 2.001 points compared with administrative patients. Compared with patients in public education institutions, the scores of adaptability to return-towork of patients in private education institutions decreased by 2.249 points. When the scores of FoP-Q-SF and SSRS increased by 1 point, the scores of adaptability to return-to-work increased by-1.241 and 1.456 points, respectively. All differences were statistically significant (P < 0.01).

  Conclusions  The female teachers' level of adaptability to return-to-work after breast cancer surgery in Xinjiang needs to be improved, and the relevant departments should pay attention to the care and social support for female teachers with low educational levels, with mastectomy, in front-line teaching posts, or in private educational institutions, so as to improve their adaptability to return to work.