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Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on supportive care needs, psychological distress and 3 quality of life in UK cancer survivors and their support network.
Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J. Leslie, Monica Hulbert-Williams, Lee Smith, Eilidh Howells, Lesley Pinato, David J.
Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J.
Leslie, Monica
Hulbert-Williams, Lee
Smith, Eilidh
Howells, Lesley
Pinato, David J.
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
EPub Date
Publication Date
2021-03-25
Submitted Date
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Article - AAM
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Abstract
Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic is having considerable impact on cancer care, including restricted access to hospital-based care, treatment and psychosocial support. We investigated the impact on unmet needs and psychosocial wellbeing.
Methods: 144 participants (77% female), including people with cancer and their support networks, were recruited. The most prevalent diagnosis was breast cancer. Forty-one participants recruited pre-pandemic were compared with 103 participants recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured participants’ unmet supportive care needs, psychological distress and quality of life.
Results: Half of our patient respondents reported unexpected changes to treatment following pandemic onset, with widespread confusion about their longer-term consequences. Although overall need levels have not increased, specific needs have changed in prominence. People with cancer reported significantly reduced anxiety (p=.049) and improved quality of life (p=.032) following pandemic onset, but support network participants reported reduced quality of life (p=.009), and non-significantly elevated anxiety, stress and depression.
Conclusion: Psychological wellbeing of people with cancer has not been detrimentally affected by pandemic onset. Reliance on home-based support to compensate for the lost availability of structured healthcare pathways may, however, explain significant and detrimental effects on the wellbeing and quality of life of people in their support and informal care networks.
Citation
Hulbert-Williams, N. J., Leslie, M., Hulbert-Williams, L., Smith, E., Howells, L., & Pinato, D.J. (2021). Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on supportive care needs, psychological distress and 3 quality of life in UK cancer survivors and their support network.. European Journal of Cancer Care, 30(5), e13442. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.13442
Publisher
Wiley
Journal
European Journal of Cancer Care
Research Unit
DOI
10.1111/ecc.13442
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
Description
The AAM is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hulbert-Williams, N. J., Leslie, M., Hulbert-Williams, L., Smith, E., Howells, L., & Pinato, D.J. (2021). Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on supportive care needs, psychological distress and 3 quality of life in UK cancer survivors and their support network.. European Journal of Cancer Care, 30(5), e13442, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.13442. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Series/Report no.
ISSN
0961-5423
EISSN
1365-2354