Table 4.
Reaction of supervisors and co-workers on diagnosis of lymphedema
| No. participants employed (103) | Told co-workers (n = 63; 61.2 %) | Told supervisor (n = 49; 47.6 %) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | SD | Somewhat agree (%) | Agree (%) | Strongly agree (%) | % Agreement | Mean | SD | Somewhat agree (%) | Agree (%) | Strongly agree (%) | % Agreement | |
| They treated me as usual | 6.05 | 0.99 | 11 | 49 | 33 | 93 | 5.84 | 1.21 | 10 | 49 | 29 | 88 |
| They demonstrated understanding | 5.11 | 1.54 | 16 | 37 | 16 | 68 | 5.10 | 1.58 | 20 | 45 | 10 | 76 |
| They were generally supportive | 5.75 | 1.09 | 13 | 48 | 24 | 84 | 5.53 | 1.44 | 12 | 53 | 18 | 84 |
| They provided practical support-e.g. help lifting | 4.56 | 1.92 | 13 | 24 | 17 | 54 | 4.33 | 1.94 | 8 | 27 | 12 | 47 |
| They were not concerned about my condition | 3.63 | 1.78 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 35 | 3.57 | 1.90 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 35 |
| They were too busy to pay much attention | 3.52 | 1.77 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 29 | 3.35 | 1.83 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 31 |
| They did not trust my capabilities | 2.41 | 1.44 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2.39 | 1.58 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| They thought I used my condition as an excuse | 1.95 | 1.33 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2.20 | 1.68 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| I have experienced discrimination | 1.94 | 1.37 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2.31 | 1.79 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| I have been excluded from career-advancement opportunities | 2.05 | 1.52 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 2.43 | 1.88 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 18 |