@article{b48b4049aabe4b2ba73ad84f6709c887,
title = "Salary and student loan debt for oncology social workers: Findings from the oncology social work competencies, opportunities, roles and expertise (CORE) survey",
abstract = "Purpose: To better understand the current salaries and student loan debt levels among oncology social workers (OSWs). Design: Cross-sectional study using online survey. Sample: OSWs across a variety of cancer care settings in the U.S. (n = 1055). Methods: Salary and debt were collected via single ordinal variables. Crosstabs and chi-square tests were used to examine whether salary and debt differ by demographic and work-related characteristics. Findings: Median OSW salaries ranged from $60,001 to $70,000. Three-fourths of OSWs reported having student loan debt. Younger and recently graduated OSWs and OSWs of color were more likely to have greater student loan debt than their counterparts. Conclusions: Relative low salary and debt burden have important implications for securing a current and future OSW workforce. Implications for Psychosocial Policy: Adequate reimbursement and loan repayment opportunities for frontline OSWs will better secure this workforce. Advocacy efforts to identify OSWs qualified for loan forgiveness programs are warranted.",
keywords = "loan forgiveness programs, oncology social worker, salary, student loan debt, survey, workforce",
author = "Ting Guan and Brad Zebrack and Shirley Otis-Green and Grace DesJardins",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Health Behavior and Outcomes Research Program under NCI CCSG Award Number P30CA046592. Funding was also provided by the University of Michigan School of Social Work; Lynn Behar, PhD, LICSW; and anonymous donors. The authors are grateful to all of the social workers who completed the surveys. The authors also wish to thank Krista Nelson, Makeeta Rayton, Donna Long, Michael Grignon, Tara Schapmire, Zoe Silverman, and Chiu-Yi (Joey) Tan for their efforts and support with study preparation, survey development, data collection, and data management. We are also grateful to Dr. Jordan Wingate for his editorial assistance. Funding Information: This work was supported by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Health Behavior and Outcomes Research Program under NCI CCSG Award Number P30CA046592. Funding was also provided by the University of Michigan School of Social Work; Lynn Behar, PhD, LICSW; and anonymous donors. The authors are grateful to all of the social workers who completed the surveys. The authors also wish to thank Krista Nelson, Makeeta Rayton, Donna Long, Michael Grignon, Tara Schapmire, Zoe Silverman, and Chiu-Yi (Joey) Tan for their efforts and support with study preparation, survey development, data collection, and data management. We are also grateful to Dr. Jordan Wingate for his editorial assistance. This work was supported by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Health Behavior and Outcomes Research Program under NCI CCSG Award Number P30CA046592. Funding was also provided by the University of Michigan School of Social Work; Lynn Behar, PhD, LICSW; and anonymous donors. Funding Information: This work was supported by the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Health Behavior and Outcomes Research Program under NCI CCSG Award Number P30CA046592. Funding was also provided by the University of Michigan School of Social Work; Lynn Behar, PhD, LICSW; and anonymous donors. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.",
year = "2023",
doi = "10.1080/07347332.2022.2101906",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "41",
pages = "196--209",
journal = "Journal of Psychosocial Oncology",
issn = "0734-7332",
publisher = "Routledge",
number = "2",
}