Kassianos, AP;
Georgiou, A;
Kyprianidou, M;
Lamnisos, D;
Ļubenko, J;
Presti, G;
Squatrito, V;
... Constantinidou, A; + view all
(2021)
Mental health and adherence to covid-19 protective behaviors among cancer patients during the covid-19 pandemic: An international, multinational cross-sectional study.
Cancers
, 13
, Article 6294. 10.3390/cancers13246294.
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Abstract
A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the first COVID-19 wave, to examine the impact of COVID-19 on mental health using an anonymous online survey, enrolling 9565 individuals in 78 countries. The current sub-study examined the impact of the pandemic and the associated lockdown measures on the mental health, and protective behaviors of cancer patients in comparison to non-cancer participants. Furthermore, 264 participants from 30 different countries reported being cancer patients. The median age was 51.5 years, 79.9% were female, and 28% had breast cancer. Cancer participants reported higher self-efficacy to follow recommended national guidelines regarding COVID-19 protective behaviors compared to non-cancer participants (p < 0.01). They were less stressed (p < 0.01), more psychologically flexible (p < 0.01), and had higher levels of positive affect compared to non-cancer participants. Amongst cancer participants, the majority (80.3%) reported COVID-19, not their cancer, as their priority during the first wave of the pandemic and females reported higher levels of stress compared to males. In conclusion, cancer participants appeared to have handled the unpredictable nature of the first wave of the pandemic efficiently, with a positive attitude towards an unknown and otherwise frightening situation. Larger, cancer population specific and longitudinal studies are warranted to ensure adequate medical and psychological care for cancer patients.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Mental health and adherence to covid-19 protective behaviors among cancer patients during the covid-19 pandemic: An international, multinational cross-sectional study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/cancers13246294 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246294 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | : © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). |
| Keywords: | cancer patients; mental health; health behaviors; protection behaviors; COVID-19 |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Applied Health Research |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10140741 |
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