Improving data on cancer workforce shortages

Launching Our Official Survey on Working Conditions in the Cancer Workforce

As part of our campaign, we launched at the European Cancer Summit a survey to evaluate the working conditions and quality of life of healthcare professionals involved in cancer care. This survey was a joint effort of the European Cancer Organisation, 12 of its Member Societies, and representatives of its Young Cancer Professionals group.

The three main objectives of the survey were to:

• Improve available national data for different cancer disciplines and professions throughout Europe.
• Feed into the European Cancer Pulse, helping to identify and quantify inequalities between countries.
• Model the impact of working conditions in the cancer workforce for the future.

Its results were published and shared at the European Cancer Summit 2024, with the launch of Under Pressure, a report on the cancer workforce crisis.

Background

One of the pillars of our campaign, is a policy research project to better quantify workforce shortages and evaluate working conditions in countries across Europe.

This policy research project built on important initiatives conducted at a European or international level, from both inter-governmental organisations and agencies, and across health and cancer professions and disciplines (e.g., WHO, OECD, EUROSTAT), ECO’s Member Societies and other medical or professional societies in specific areas (e.g., the ESTRO-HERO survey, the European Cancer Nursing Index or the EU-REST project).

In so doing, the project generated more recent data on working conditions and workforce shortages, including more robust coverage of key professions underpinning delivery of multidisciplinary cancer care. It also provided insights into the current and long-term impact for European health systems. It includes:

• A survey on cancer workforce staffing targeted to national cancer authorities; public health institutes; health ministries; national cancer societies and other national contact points of international professional societies.
• A survey on working conditions in the cancer workforce, targeted to all health professionals involved in cancer patient care, will soon be publicly available.

Both surveys were developed with experts from: European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM); European Pain Federation (EFIC); European Federation of Organisation for Medical Physics (EFOMP); European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS); European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP); European Society of Oncology Pharmacy (ESOP); European Society of Pathology (ESP); European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN); European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO); European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO); International Psycho-oncology Society (IPOS); Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC); United European Gastroenterology (UEG); and the ECO Young Cancer Professionals group.

This data was also included in the European Cancer Pulse tool and ultimately used to generate a better representation of cancer workforce issues and inequalities across Europe.