Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to increase understanding of the effects of the pandemic on cancer patients, survivors and caregivers.

Methods: An Internet-based survey was accessed over 2 months by individuals diagnosed with cancer or caregivers (N = 281), with descriptive statistics and chi square analysis used to compare subsets.

Results: Most participants reported social isolation (76%) and mental health impact (70%) since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic; isolation appeared to correlate with mental health impact (p < .00001). Food insecurity and financial hardship correlated significantly with mental health impact; food insecurity also correlated with social isolation.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that mental health during the pandemic in the cancer population may be impacted by social isolation, financial stress, and food insecurity, as well as stress regarding accessing cancer treatments. Awareness by psychosocial healthcare providers of need for resources to support these hardships, as well as framework to identify them, are essential elements of cancer-related care.

摘要

目的：本研究旨在加深对大流行对癌症患者、幸存者和护理人员的影响的了解。

方法：被诊断患有癌症的个人或护理人员（N = 281）在 2 个月内访问了一项基于互联网的调查，使用描述性统计和卡方分析来比较子集。

结果：自 COVID19 大流行开始以来，大多数参与者报告了社会孤立 (76%) 和心理健康影响 (70%)；孤立似乎与心理健康影响相关（p < .00001）。粮食不安全和经济困难与心理健康影响显着相关；粮食不安全也与社会孤立有关。

结论：我们的研究结果表明，癌症人群在大流行期间的心理健康可能受到社会孤立、经济压力和粮食不安全以及获得癌症治疗的压力的影响。社会心理医疗保健提供者意识到需要资源来支持这些困难，以及识别这些困难的框架，是癌症相关护理的基本要素。