Balancing employment and cancer caregiving: Exploring caregiver and workplace perspectives

Full description

The broad research questions are:
a) how informal caregivers of cancer patients who are in paid employment navigate their workplace responsibilities while managing their caregiving responsibilities;
and b) the key workplace practices and policies that can help support working caregivers of cancer patients in balancing caregiving and professional responsibilities.
This research aims to understand the experiences of employed informal cancer caregivers, and to explore how workplaces and policy settings can better support them. Cancer is one of the most common and challenging health conditions in Australia, and its impact is growing each year. With more people being diagnosed - due to a growing and ageing population as well as better detection methods - an increasing number of people and their families are affected by cancer. This research will add new knowledge to the field by offering a deeper understanding of the intersection between cancer caregiving and employment. These insights will help guide the development of targeted workplace interventions that are specific to the needs of cancer caregivers.
The methodology will be a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with employed cancer caregivers. One-on-one interviews will be conducted via private virtual settings using Zoom. The interview recordings will be transcribed verbatim using the in-built AI transcription tools of Zoom. After transcription, the transcripts will be reviewed for accuracy. Transcripts will be uploaded into NVivo software for analysis.
As this is a qualitative study, the outcomes/conclusions will focus on the themes, patterns, and narratives that emerge from participants’ experiences. The primary outcome/conclusion of this research will be a thematic understanding of how working informal caregivers of cancer patients experience and navigate the challenges of balancing employment at the same time.