Stakeholder perspectives on the impact of Covid-19 on Oncology services: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background: As COVID-19 spread across the globe, cancer services were required to rapidly pivot to minimise risks without compromising outcomes for patients or staff. The aim of this study was to document changes to Oncology services as a result of COVID-19 from the perspectives of both providers and receivers of care during the initial phase of the pandemic. Methods: Participants were recruited between June and December 2020 through an email invitation via professional or consumer organisations, two hospital-based oncology services and snowballing. Semi-structured interviews focused on health service changes and their impacts, which were then analysed by thematic analysis. Results: Thirty-two patients, 16 carers and 29 health professionals were recruited. Fifteen patients (n=47%) had localised disease and 19 (n=59%) were currently receiving treatment. Oncology staff included oncologists, palliative care physicians, nurses, allied health and psychosocial practitioners. Four themes arose from the data: safety, increased stress and burnout, communication challenges, and quality of cancer care. Conclusions: There is an ongoing need for cancer-specific information from a single, trusted source to inform medical practitioners and patients/carers. More data are required to inform evidence-based guidelines for cancer care during future pandemics. All stakeholders require ongoing support to avoid stress and burnout.

“I Feel Like I Work Full-Time for Parkinson’s”: A Longitudinal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Parkinson’s Informal Caregivers during COVID-19 in England

“…In terms of clinical practice, our findings suggest that UK lockdown restrictions had considerable negative effects on caregivers of PwP, meaning that a rapid restoration of services to pre-lockdown functioning is warranted-as also highlighted by Parkinson's UK [37] and other patients and caregivers associations, all of which played a pivotal supporting role before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This also appears to be in line with similar suggestions formulated around the world for caregivers of individuals with other chronic conditions such as mental health difficulties [38] and cancer [39], as well as other neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia [40], multiple sclerosis [41], and motor neurone disease [42]. Therefore, the urgent need to provide significant investments to support caregivers across multiple conditions, including Parkinson's, is emphasised.…”