Bloch Ayala, Sharoni Limor, Shany-Ur Tal, Maril Sari, Margalit Daniella
Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
The National Institute of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jun 13;16:1415038. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1415038. eCollection 2025.
Neuropsychological difficulties are common following non-central nervous system (CNS) cancer. Five years after treatment, up to 40% of survivors still report deficits, supported by neuropsychological tests and MRI findings. As these deficits can pose significant difficulties in finding and maintaining employment, we developed a novel vocational rehabilitation day program for non-CNS cancer survivors. The 6-month program included individual and group interventions addressing cognitive and emotional difficulties, healthy lifestyle, and job placement. In a non-randomized controlled study, we compared changes in employment status and in cognitive and emotional variables, before and after program participation.
46 individuals in the rehabilitation group were tested before and after participation in the program. Inclusion criteria were completion of treatment for non-CNS cancer, unemployment, and cognitive deficits shown in a neuropsychological assessment before the beginning of the program. They were compared to a control group of 15 participants who met the same inclusion criteria and were tested upon recruitment and 6 months later. Measures included employment status, a computerized cognitive test battery, and questionnaires assessing the emotional variables depression, anxiety, and fear of cancer recurrence.
The emotional variables showed greater improvement in the rehabilitation group than in the control group. There was no group by time interaction for the cognitive variables. At the second timepoint, 67% of the rehabilitation group were employed, compared to 33% of the control group.
This first-of-its-kind program met its primary goal of supporting reintegration into the workforce among non-CNS cancer survivors with neuropsychological difficulties, alongside additional positive effects.
非中枢神经系统（CNS）癌症患者常伴有神经心理方面的问题。治疗五年后，高达40%的幸存者经神经心理测试和MRI检查仍存在缺陷。由于这些缺陷会给求职和维持工作带来极大困难，我们为非CNS癌症幸存者开发了一种全新的职业康复日间项目。该为期6个月的项目包括针对认知和情绪问题、健康生活方式及就业安置的个体和团体干预。在一项非随机对照研究中，我们比较了项目参与前后就业状况以及认知和情绪变量的变化。
对康复组的46名个体在参与项目前后进行测试。纳入标准为完成非CNS癌症治疗、失业且在项目开始前的神经心理评估中显示存在认知缺陷。将他们与15名符合相同纳入标准的对照组参与者进行比较，对照组参与者在招募时及6个月后接受测试。测量指标包括就业状况、计算机化认知测试组以及评估抑郁、焦虑和对癌症复发恐惧等情绪变量的问卷。
康复组的情绪变量改善程度大于对照组。认知变量不存在组间与时间的交互作用。在第二个时间点，康复组67%的人就业，而对照组这一比例为33%。
这个首创的项目实现了其主要目标，即帮助有神经心理问题的非CNS癌症幸存者重新融入劳动力市场，同时还产生了其他积极效果。
