Resilience in the Face of Pandemic: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Psychologic Morbidity and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Women With Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for ovarian cancer survivors. This study aims to evaluate the psychologic morbidity and alterations in medical care caused by the pandemic. METHODS: Advanced-stage ovarian cancer survivors at our institution were contacted for participation in a cross-sectional telephone-based quantitative survey study assessing pandemic-related psychologic morbidity. Psychologic domains using validated measures were explored: health-related quality of life (HRQOL; functional assessment of cancer therapy [FACT-G7]), anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder-7 [GAD7]), depression (Patient Health Questionnarie-2 [PHQ2]), global health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System - Global Physical Health/Global Mental Health (PROMIS-GMH/GPH), resilience (brief resilience scale), and loneliness (English Longitudinal Study on Aging). Novel COVID-19 pandemic questions were drawn from a larger survey developed in our department. RESULTS: Fifty-nine percent (61 of 104) of contacted patients completed the survey. One quarter of respondents had high resilience, with only 10% reporting low resilience. Only one patient screened positive for depression, and two for anxiety. Increased loneliness was reported by 43% of respondents. Patients' overall HRQOL was good (median = 21; range = 6-28). Few patients experienced treatment delays, with only four experiencing chemotherapy interruption and two reporting surgical delays. Multiple regression analyses revealed that high FACT-G7 HRQOL was predicted by age > 65 years, high self-reported mental health, high resilience, and being off chemotherapy. Lower COVID-19 concern was predicted by recurrent cancer and high resilience. CONCLUSION: Despite the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, ovarian cancer survivors' HRQOL has been maintained. Older age, high resilience, high mental health, and being off chemotherapy predicted better HRQOL. Ovarian cancer survivors remain resilient in the face of the pandemic, and the support of clinicians to preserve this invaluable personal resource is critical for well-being.

Impact of Geriatric Assessment and Management on Quality of Life, Unplanned Hospitalizations, Toxicity, and Survival for Older Adults With Cancer: The Randomized 5C Trial

“…Other studies have reported negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial QOL, [37][38][39] no impact on QOL, 40,41 or, similar to our study, a positive impact on QOL. 42,43 It can be hypothesized that the switch to virtual visits and reduced visits in hospital led to less treatment burden and higher QOL.…”

Resilience and social support improve mental health and quality of life in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome

“…Additionally, a meta-analysis including samples from the general population found a positive correlation between trait resilience and positive indicators of mental health, and a negative correlation between trait resilience and negative indicators of mental health (Hu et al, 2015). Moreover, it is well known that during the COVID-19 pandemic, resilience helped people and especially vulnerable groups (e.g., elderly or patients) to maintain good quality of life (Aldhahi et al, 2021; Javellana et al, 2022; Koivunen et al, 2022; Lipskaya-Velikovsky, 2021; Setiawan et al, 2022).…”

A study of COVID anxiety, spiritual well-being and resilience levels in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in the south of Iran

“…Similarly, an increasing body of literature shows that, both in cancer patients and cancer survivors, resilience correlates with better adaptation to cancer, higher quality of life, better mental health, and improved treatment results [ 58 ]. In a study by Javellana et al [ 59 ], higher levels of resilience in women with ovarian cancer predicted higher health-related quality of life scores and less anxiety about the COVID-19 pandemic. On a similar note, Koral and Cirak (2021) reported a significant inverse correlation between fears of cancer recurrence on the one hand and spiritual well-being and psychological resilience on the other in breast cancer survivors.…”