Abstract

Background

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rapidly shifted psychosocial services to telepsychology, including psychosocial oncology (PSO) practices. PSO providers work with patients undergoing treatment, experiencing treatment delays and/or immuno-suppression in the context of a global pandemic. There is evidence to support the acceptability of telepsychology among cancer patients and an emerging need for data to inform the design and provision of telepsychology PSO care during the pandemic and beyond.

Research Objectives

This study examined engagement in telepsychology PSO care at an outpatient community cancer center.

Methods

The current study analyzed practice data from a PSO department from March 2020 through September 2020. The sample included 354 patients (91 established; 263 newly referred). Descriptive, correlational, and comparative analyses were conducted.

Results

Among established patients, 93% continued with telepsychology PSO care after the pandemic and 94% completed at least one telepsychology appointment. Among newly referred patients, 50.6% scheduled a telepsychology appointment, consistent with the scheduling rate for the proceeding calendar year (50%). Across patients scheduling telepsychology PSO appointments (N = 194), 68 initially engaged in phone-based services with 20 converting to video, for a total of 127 (76.5%) patients utilizing video-based PSO services. Common reasons for phone-based services included ‘patient preference’ (N = 14), ‘lack of access’ (N = 9), and ‘technology barriers’ (N = 8). During this timeframe, 18% had at least one no-show, which is significantly less than the preceding year (23%). Phone-based patients were significantly older (p =.007). A greater proportion of males engaged in phone-based services compared to females (p = .006).

Conclusions

Telepsychology PSO engages new and existing patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. There may be an increased demand for services and increased utilization in the context of the pandemic and the availability of telepsychology. There are disparities and access issues that should be considered and addressed.

中文翻译：

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在 COVID-19 大流行期间将心理社会肿瘤学护理转移到远程心理学

摘要

背景

新型冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 迅速将社会心理服务转向远程心理学，包括社会心理肿瘤学 (PSO) 实践。PSO 提供者与正在接受治疗、在全球大流行背景下经历治疗延迟和/或免疫抑制的患者合作。有证据支持远程心理学在癌症患者中的可接受性以及对数据的新需求，以在大流行期间及之后为远程心理学 PSO 护理的设计和提供提供信息。

研究目标

本研究调查了在门诊社区癌症中心参与远程心理学 PSO 护理。

方法

当前的研究分析了 PSO 部门从 2020 年 3 月到 2020 年 9 月的实践数据。样本包括 354 名患者（91 名成立；263 名新转诊）。进行了描述性、相关性和比较性分析。

结果

在既定患者中，93% 的患者在大流行后继续接受远程心理学 PSO 护理，94% 的患者至少完成了一次远程心理学预约。在新转诊的患者中，50.6% 安排了远程心理咨询，与下一日历年的安排率 (50%) 一致。在安排远程心理学 PSO 预约的患者中（N = 194），68 人最初从事基于电话的服务，20 人转换为视频，总共有 127（76.5%）名患者使用基于视频的 PSO 服务。基于电话的服务的常见原因包括“患者偏好”（N = 14）、“无法访问”（N = 9）和“技术障碍”（N = 8）。在此期间，18% 的受访者至少有一次缺席，明显低于上一年 (23%)。使用电话的患者明显年龄较大（p = .007）。

结论

Telepsychology PSO 在 COVID-19 大流行期间吸引新的和现有的患者。在大流行和远程心理学的可用性的背景下，对服务的需求和利用率可能会增加。存在应该考虑和解决的差异和访问问题。