ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Evaluation of Psychological Distress in Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment in an Oncology Department During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Received Date : 17 Nov 2021
Accepted Date : 24 Mar 2022
Available Online : 05 Apr 2022
Yasemin KEMALa, Aytül KARABEKİROĞLUb, Özlem TERZİc
aDepartment of Oncology, Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Türkiye
bDepartment of Psychiatry, Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Türkiye
cDepartment of Public Health, Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Medicine, Samsun, Türkiye
Doi: 10.37047/jos.2021-87089 - Article's Language: EN
J Oncol Sci. 2022;8(1):20-6
ABSTRACT
Objective: Patients with cancer have an increased risk of severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) because their immune
systems are suppressed due to cancer treatments or cancer itself. Therefore, patients with cancer are prone to COVID-19 infection. In this study,
we evaluated the anxiety of patients receiving cancer treatment in our oncology department during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study consisted of 220 patients receiving cancer treatment in the medical oncology clinic of our
hospital between 01 and 30 April 2020. Study data were obtained using a questionnaire consisting of 26 questions. The Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale was used to determine the patients’ psychological distress. The scale results were compared with the results of Kruskal-Wallis,
Mann-Whitney U, and chi-square tests. Results: We observed that 80 (36.4%) and 40 (18.2%) of the 220 patients studied had risks of depression
and anxiety, respectively. In this study, 46.4% of the patients believed that their illness was being negatively affected by the COVID-19
pandemic, and 45.5% of the patients worried that their treatment would be interrupted during this period. Conclusion: Our results suggest that
patients with cancer need more psychosocial support than do the general population during this pandemic period. These needs should be considered
while planning oncological health services, and appropriate arrangements should be made.
Keywords: Cancer; anxiety; depression; COVID-19; Hospital Anxiety and Depression
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