Partnership ready to help businesses respond to breast cancer in the workplace

Leaders of the Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer research project want to connect with small and large businesses to help them implement their action plan to create “bright spots,” or best practices for a healthy workplace response to breast cancer.

The Partnership is comprised of a system of individuals who touch the working lives of breast cancer survivors in some way: breast cancer survivors, themselves, professionals working in public policy, organized labour, labour law, health services, cancer advocacy groups, and students and research experts in psychosocial oncology, work psychology, disability management, and knowledge mobilization, among others. The Partnership will spend the day on Friday designing workplace interventions to create a healthy workplace response to breast cancer. They are also developing an action plan that day, and would like to talk to community organizations, managers, and large and small businesses to help them implement this action plan.

“Help us get it right,” says Dr. Catherine Loughlin, co-investigator with the project. “We need the engagement of businesses and community members who have experienced breast cancer in the workplace.”

The project began in April 2016 and is led by researcher and Saint Mary’s University professor, Dr. Lucie Kocum and co-investigators, Dr. Catherine Loughlin (Saint Mary’s University), and Dr. Lynne Robinson (Dalhousie University). The project is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Canadian Institutes of Health research, Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and community partners.

“We are doing this research for women who deserve a healthier workplace response to their disease. For the 68 Canadian women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer today, and the 68 more who will be diagnosed tomorrow,” says Dr. Kocum.

Dr. Robinson agrees: “This is about women hit hard by a life-threatening illness, and the cure rate is increasing, so is the number of working aged women diagnosed.”

Currently breast cancer is the most common cancer among women aged 20-59.

The second Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer workshop will be held at Saint Mary’s new CLARI facility on Friday, October 28 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Website: workwellnesslab.com
Twitter: @WorkWellnessLab
Facebook: WorkWellnessLab

Contact

Nicole Webb
Partnership for a Healthy Workplace Response to Breast Cancer
Project and Communications Manager
Cancer and Work Communications Coordinator
902-293-5857
Nicole.Webb@smu.ca