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COVID-19's Impact on Cancer Care: Increased Emotional Stress in Patients and High Risk of Provider Burnout.
J Gastrointest Surg. 2022 01; 26(1):1-12.JG

Abstract

BACKGROUND

COVID-19's precise impact on cancer patients and their oncologic care providers remains poorly understood. This study aims at comparatively analyzing COVID-19's effect on cancer care from both patient and provider perspectives.

METHODS

A multi-institutional survey was developed to assess COVID-19-specific concerns regarding treatment, safety, and emotional stress through 5-point Likert-type prompts and open-ended questions before and during the pandemic. Wilcoxon signed-rank and rank-sum tests were used to analyze before/during answers for providers and patients independently. Open-ended responses were assessed using inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The survey was completed by 104 (69.3%) patients and 50 (50%) providers. Patients demonstrated a significant change in only 1 of 15 Likert prompts. Most significant were increased concern regarding susceptibility to infection [z = 2.536, p = 0.011] and concerns regarding their cancer outcome [z = 4.572, p < 0.001]. Non-physician providers demonstrated significant change in 8 of 13 Likert prompts, whereas physicians had all 13 Likert prompts change in the COVID-19 setting. Physicians believed care to be more poorly planned [z = -3.857, p ≤ 0.001], availability of protective personal equipment to be more limited [z = -4.082, p < 0.001], and were significantly concerned infecting family members [z = 4.965, p < 0.001].

CONCLUSIONS

While patients had more difficulty coping with their cancer, they did not perceive significant differences in their actual treatment. This suggests the need for a renewed focus on patients coping with cancer. Among providers, physicians more than any other provider group had a strong negative perception of COVID-19's impact on healthcare, suggesting the need for novel approaches to target physician burnout.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Salehi O
Department of Surgery, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, 11 Nevins St., Suite 201, Brighton, MA, 02135, USA.
Alarcon SV
Department of Medical Oncology & Hematology, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Vega EA
Department of Surgery, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, 11 Nevins St., Suite 201, Brighton, MA, 02135, USA.
Kutlu OC
Department of Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
Kozyreva O
Department of Medical Oncology & Hematology, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center and Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Chan JA
Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Kazakova V
Department of Internal Medicine, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Harz D
MMSc Medical Education Program, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA. Escuela de Odontología, Pontificie Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Conrad C
Department of Surgery, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, 11 Nevins St., Suite 201, Brighton, MA, 02135, USA. claudius.conrad@steward.org.

MeSH

Burnout, PsychologicalCOVID-19HumansNeoplasmsPandemicsPsychological DistressSARS-CoV-2Surveys and Questionnaires

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

34027579

Citation

Salehi, Omid, et al. "COVID-19's Impact On Cancer Care: Increased Emotional Stress in Patients and High Risk of Provider Burnout." Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery : Official Journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, vol. 26, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1-12.
Salehi O, Alarcon SV, Vega EA, et al. COVID-19's Impact on Cancer Care: Increased Emotional Stress in Patients and High Risk of Provider Burnout. J Gastrointest Surg. 2022;26(1):1-12.
Salehi, O., Alarcon, S. V., Vega, E. A., Kutlu, O. C., Kozyreva, O., Chan, J. A., Kazakova, V., Harz, D., & Conrad, C. (2022). COVID-19's Impact on Cancer Care: Increased Emotional Stress in Patients and High Risk of Provider Burnout. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery : Official Journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, 26(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11605-021-05032-y
Salehi O, et al. COVID-19's Impact On Cancer Care: Increased Emotional Stress in Patients and High Risk of Provider Burnout. J Gastrointest Surg. 2022;26(1):1-12. PubMed PMID: 34027579.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - COVID-19's Impact on Cancer Care: Increased Emotional Stress in Patients and High Risk of Provider Burnout. AU - Salehi,Omid, AU - Alarcon,Sylvia V, AU - Vega,Eduardo A, AU - Kutlu,Onur C, AU - Kozyreva,Olga, AU - Chan,Jennifer A, AU - Kazakova,Vera, AU - Harz,Dominique, AU - Conrad,Claudius, Y1 - 2021/05/23/ PY - 2021/02/18/received PY - 2021/04/26/accepted PY - 2021/5/25/pubmed PY - 2022/1/21/medline PY - 2021/5/24/entrez KW - COVID-19 KW - Cancer care KW - Professional burnout KW - Psychological stress KW - Surveys and questionnaires SP - 1 EP - 12 JF - Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract JO - J Gastrointest Surg VL - 26 IS - 1 N2 - BACKGROUND: COVID-19's precise impact on cancer patients and their oncologic care providers remains poorly understood. This study aims at comparatively analyzing COVID-19's effect on cancer care from both patient and provider perspectives. METHODS: A multi-institutional survey was developed to assess COVID-19-specific concerns regarding treatment, safety, and emotional stress through 5-point Likert-type prompts and open-ended questions before and during the pandemic. Wilcoxon signed-rank and rank-sum tests were used to analyze before/during answers for providers and patients independently. Open-ended responses were assessed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 104 (69.3%) patients and 50 (50%) providers. Patients demonstrated a significant change in only 1 of 15 Likert prompts. Most significant were increased concern regarding susceptibility to infection [z = 2.536, p = 0.011] and concerns regarding their cancer outcome [z = 4.572, p < 0.001]. Non-physician providers demonstrated significant change in 8 of 13 Likert prompts, whereas physicians had all 13 Likert prompts change in the COVID-19 setting. Physicians believed care to be more poorly planned [z = -3.857, p ≤ 0.001], availability of protective personal equipment to be more limited [z = -4.082, p < 0.001], and were significantly concerned infecting family members [z = 4.965, p < 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS: While patients had more difficulty coping with their cancer, they did not perceive significant differences in their actual treatment. This suggests the need for a renewed focus on patients coping with cancer. Among providers, physicians more than any other provider group had a strong negative perception of COVID-19's impact on healthcare, suggesting the need for novel approaches to target physician burnout. SN - 1873-4626 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/34027579/COVID_19's_Impact_on_Cancer_Care:_Increased_Emotional_Stress_in_Patients_and_High_Risk_of_Provider_Burnout_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -