Abstract

Since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the strain on healthcare services affected patients suffering from various comorbidities and added to the psychological burden. The study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and anxiety levels of pediatric Hematology/Oncology patients during the COVID19 pandemic and evaluate the association between anxiety levels and physical, emotional, and social aspects of HRQoL. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 292 children between 2.5 − 13 years with chronic hematological/oncological disorders. Pediatric Quality of Life Generic Core Scale and Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale were used for assessment of HRQoL and anxiety, respectively. Linear regression was performed to assess the association between background and COVID-19 related factors with anxiety level. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was performed to assess the association between the three HRQoL dimensions with child anxiety and different independent variables. Transfusion-dependent patients had lower anxiety levels than patients receiving chemotherapy (B=-14.45, 95% CI=-21.94,-6.95).Children who were aware of the pandemic had lower anxiety scores than those who were not, while those suffering from canceled clinic days had higher anxiety levels (B=-8.66,95% CI=-14.86,-2.45, and B = 7.33,95% CI =1.22,13.45, respectively). Anxiety significantly reduced the three HRQoL domains (B=-0.36, 95% CI=-0.47, −0.24 for physical functioning, B=-0.45, 95% CI =-0.56, −0.33 for social functioning and B=-0.50, 95% CI=-0.63,-0.38 for emotional functioning). This study highlights the effect of the pandemic on the anxiety level and hence the HRQoL of chronic hematological/oncological pediatric patients for guiding policies and interventions to maintain their psychological well-being.

摘要

自世界卫生组织于 2020 年 3 月宣布 COVID-19 大流行以来，医疗保健服务的压力影响了患有各种合并症的患者，并增加了心理负担。该研究旨在评估 COVID19 大流行期间儿科血液学/肿瘤学患者的健康相关生活质量 (HRQoL) 和焦虑水平，并评估焦虑水平与 HRQoL 的身体、情感和社会方面之间的关联。对 292 名 2.5 - 13 岁患有慢性血液学/肿瘤学疾病的儿童进行了横断面研究。儿科生活质量通用核心量表和 Spence 儿童焦虑量表分别用于评估 HRQoL 和焦虑。进行线性回归以评估背景和 COVID-19 相关因素与焦虑水平之间的关联。进行多变量方差分析 (MANOVA) 以评估三个 HRQoL 维度与儿童焦虑和不同自变量之间的关联。输血依赖患者的焦虑水平低于接受化疗的患者 (B=-14.45, 95% CI=-21.94,-6.95)。意识到大流行的儿童的焦虑评分低于未意识到的儿童，而那些患有取消的门诊日具有更高的焦虑水平（分别为 B=-8.66,95% CI=-14.86,-2.45 和 B = 7.33,95% CI =1.22,13.45）。焦虑显着降低了三个 HRQoL 域（B=-0.36, 95% CI=-0.47, -0.24 表示身体功能，B=-0.45, 95% CI =-0.56, -0.33 表示社交功能和 B=-0.50, 95 % CI=-0.63,-0。38 用于情绪功能）。这项研究强调了大流行对焦虑水平的影响，从而影响慢性血液病/肿瘤儿科患者的 HRQoL，以指导政策和干预措施以维持他们的心理健康。