Quality of life and psychosocial impact of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic on patients with cancer: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Following the Covid-19 outbreak, the Italian Government adopted a progressive implementation of measures and limitations until a complete lockdown was reached. For cancer patients, the severity of the virus and the implemented restrictive measures have been a source of concern and anxiety both due to the fear of increased risk of complications if infected and the fear of no longer receiving the necessary cancer treatment.

Aim of the study

To assess the quality of life and the psychosocial impact of the lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic on cancer patients in Italy

Methods

The cross sectional study collected data from a random sample of 186 patients with different type of cancer. Respondents were asked to complete online the Short Form-12 (SF-12) and a questionnaire aiming to detect the psychosocial impact of the lockdown.

Results

The participants were mostly unemployed females with a high school diploma. The majority of them lived with other people in urban areas and used the Internet as the main source of information on the Coronavirus.

Among the basic needs, psychological and medical support appeared to be prevalent followed by the need of safe transportation to reach the treatment facilities.

Although 72.7% of patients did not give up hospital therapies, 33.3% complained of variations in the continuity of the treatments. The majority of the sample (73.2%) was worried of being infected but the 22.3% didn’t share their anxieties and worries with others. The mean score for the Physical component Summary (PCS) was 65.3 ± 7.3SD, while for the Mental component summary (MCS) it was 64.3 ± 9.7SD.

The multivariate regression analysis showed that a pessimistic perception of the quality of life was influenced by living in an extra-urban areas (OR = 1.29) and alone (OR 1.55); while a perception of a reduced physical function resulted affected by the state of anxiety and stress (OR = 1.81) and the difficulties in continuity of medical assistance (OR = 1.33).

Conclusions

A socio-medical cooperation is needed in order to enhance home care interventions, personalize and optimize care, ensure continuity of care and guarantee a high quality of life even in a health emergency situation.