Coronavirus disease 2019 and radiation oncology—survey on the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic on health care professionals in radiation oncology

Vogel, Marco M. E.; Kessel, Carmen; Kessel, Kerstin A.; Combs, Stephanie E.

doi:10.1007/s00066-022-01903-8

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The pandemic was also a stressful time for hospital staff because of the lack of protective clothing. The working hours and workload were high, there was no childcare support, job satisfaction decreased, and many other difficulties occurred [ 14 ]. All of these problems may have also indirectly affected the patients, as they also experience stress in the hospitals on a regular basis, which in turn increases their stress level and uncertainty about their recovery and the next steps in their therapy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substantial Impairment of Quality of Life during COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Advanced Rectal Cancer

et al. 2022

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The aim of this study was to analyze the quality of life of patients with advanced rectal cancer before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine whether the pandemic affected patients’ quality of life. The study included 389 patients and was performed from May 2010 to June 2021. The fifteen months from March 2020 to June 2021 were categorized as the COVID-19 period. Patients were surveyed using the QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CR38 questionnaires. The questionnaires were used at different phases of radiochemotherapy: prior to RCT (day 1), during RCT (day 14), at the end of RCT (day 35), and prior to mesorectal surgery (day 70). Scores were formed from the questions. In addition, scores were analyzed for different age groups (<64 and >64) and sexes (female and male). Overall, patients reported lower functional scores and higher symptom scores during the pandemic than before the pandemic. Although it had been expected that older and younger patients would differ clearly, there were only minor differences. The comparison between the two sexes showed very different scores, with female patients having lower functional scores and higher symptom scores than male patients before and especially during COVID-19. In conclusion, age does not play a major role in quality of life, but sex does play an important role in perception of functioning and symptoms. COVID-19 also had a major impact on patients’ lives, as it was a very isolating and stressful time for everyone, especially cancer patients, which was reflected in worsening scores.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substantial Impairment of Quality of Life during COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Advanced Rectal Cancer

et al. 2022

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“…Over the past few years, various surveys on different healthcare topics have been published in the German-speaking radiotherapy community [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. One of the main limitations of these surveys was the low return rate of completed data, which was often correlated with the size of the collective being surveyed.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey in radiation oncology departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: state of digitalization by 2023

Janssen,

El Shafie,

Grohmann

et al. 2023

Strahlenther Onkol

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Purpose The aim of this work was to assess the current state of digitalization in radiation oncology departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Methods A comprehensive survey was conducted in a digital format, consisting of 53 questions that covered various aspects of digitalization including patient workflow, departmental organization, radiotherapy planning, and employee-related aspects. Results Overall, 120 forms were eligible for evaluation. Participants were mainly physicians or medical physicists responsible for digitalization aspects in their departments. Nearly 70% of the institutions used electronic patient records, with 50% being completely paperless. However, the use of smartphone apps for electronic patient reported outcomes (ePROMs) and digital health applications (DIGA) was limited (9% and 4.9%, respectively). In total, 70.8% of the radio-oncology departments had interfaces with diagnostic departments, and 36% had digital interchanges with other clinics. Communication with external partners was realized mainly through fax (72%), e‑mails (55%), postal letters (63%), or other digital exchange formats (28%). Almost half of the institutions (49%) had dedicated IT staff for their operations. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this survey is the first of its kind conducted in German-speaking radiation oncology departments within the medical field. The findings suggest that there is a varied level of digitalization implementation within these departments, with certain areas exhibiting lower rates of digitalization that could benefit from targeted improvement initiatives.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 and radiation oncology—survey on the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic on health care professionals in radiation oncology

Cited by 2 publications

References 28 publications

Substantial Impairment of Quality of Life during COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Advanced Rectal Cancer

Substantial Impairment of Quality of Life during COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Advanced Rectal Cancer

Survey in radiation oncology departments in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: state of digitalization by 2023

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