The Impact on Employment for Rural Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers Travelling to Major Cities for Treatment
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of rural cancer patients by paid work prediagnosis (n = 708)a.
Total sample (n = 708)
Paid work prediagnosis
χ2
value
Yes (n = 325)
No (n = 383)
N (%)
N (%)
N (%)
Gender
Male
368 (53%)
166 (53%)
202 (53%)
0.0569
0.8
Female
326 (47%)
150 (47%)
176 (47%)
Age
<65 years
334 (48%)
227 (72%)
107 (28%)
131.7595
<0.0001
≥65 years
359 (52%)
88 (28%)
271 (72%)
Education
Secondary school or below
397 (58%)
169 (54%)
228 (62%)
4.6092
0.03
Vocational/university
285 (42%)
145 (46%)
140 (38%)
Area-level disadvantage (SEIFA)
Low (≤50th percentile)
578 (82%)
266 (82%)
312 (82%)
0.0255
0.9
High (>50th percentile)
126 (18%)
57 (18%)
69 (18%)
Geographical remoteness (ARIA)
Major city/inner regionalb
347 (49%)
139 (43%)
208 (55%)
9.3444
0.002
Outer regional/remote
357 (51%)
184 (57%)
173 (45%)
Relationship status
In a relationship
425 (64%)
216 (66%)
236 (62%)
1.7862
0.2
Not in a relationship
256 (36%)
109 (34%)
147 (38%)
Cancer type
Breast
125 (18%)
75 (23%)
50 (13%)
23.1480
0.002
Skin
83 (12%)
33 (10%)
50 (13%)
Head and neck
107 (15%)
48 (15%)
59 (15%)
Prostate
82 (12%)
29 (9%)
53 (14%)
Gynaecological
61 (9%)
19 (6%)
42 (11%)
Others
230 (32%)
110 (34%)
120 (31%)
Unknown
10 (1%)
4 (1%)
6 (2%)
No diagnosis
10 (1%)
7 (2%)
3 (1%)
aSubgroups do not total n = 708, n = 325, or n = 383 where there are missing data. bA small percentage (<4%) of patients were classified as living in a major city according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics classification system [22]. They are included in this sample of rural cancer patients because they were required to travel at least 50 kilometres to receive treatment in a city centre. ARIA: Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia. SEIFA: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas.
