What was the impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent and Young Adult cancer care and their wellbeing? Results from a cross-sectional online survey conducted in the early stages of the pandemic

Abstract

<p>Background: Due to the global spread of COVID-19, oncology departments across the world rapidly adapted their cancer care protocols, balancing the risk of delaying cancer treatments and risk of COVID-19 exposure. COVID-19 and associated changes may have an impact on psycho-social functioning of cancer patients and survivors. We wanted to understand the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on young people living with and beyond cancer.Method: In this cross-sectional study, we surveyed 177 individuals, aged 18 - 39 years, about the impact of COVID-19 on their cancer care and psychological wellbeing. Participants also reported their information needs relating to COVID-19. Responses were summarized using content analysis approach. Results: This is the first study to examine psychological functioning of young patients and survivors during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Close to a third of respondents reported increased levels of psychological distress, and as many as 60% reported feeling more anxious than they did prior to COVID-19. More than half also wanted more information tailored to them as young cancer patients. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly evolving and changing the landscape of cancer care. Young people living with cancer are a unique population and might be more vulnerable during this time compared to their healthy peers. There is a need to screen for psychological distress and attend to young people whose cancer care has been delayed. As the lockdown begins to ease, the guidelines about cancer care should be updated according to this population’s needs.</p>

Changes in Healthcare Utilization, Spending, and Perceived Health During Covid–19: A Longitudinal Study from Singapore

“…It is of great interest to policymakers and researchers to understand how healthcare utilization, healthcare spending, and perceived health status have evolved during the spread of COVID-19. Previous studies have only documented snapshots of healthcare utilization [28,29] and perceived health status [30][31][32] in the midst of the pandemic. To extend the literature, we provide comprehensive evidence on the changes in healthcare utilization, healthcare spending, and perceived health status during the COVID-19 pandemic using the individuallevel panel data.…”

Changes in Healthcare Utilization, Spending, and Perceived Health during COVID–19: A Longitudinal Study from Singapore

“…We used a difference-in-differences (DID) method by comparing monthly changes to estimate the associations of the COVID-19 outbreak with individuals' healthcare use and spending, and perceived health status between the 2019 to 2020 season and the 2018 to 2019 season ("two seasons" hereafter). Specifically, we estimated equation 1 [28,29] and perceived health status [30][31][32] in the midst of the pandemic. To extend the literature, we provide comprehensive evidence on the changes in healthcare utilization, healthcare spending, and perceived health status during the COVID-19 pandemic using the individuallevel panel data.…”