Review on the Oncology Practice in the Midst of COVID-19 Crisis: The Challenges and Solutions

Fadavi, Pedram; Houshyari, Mohammad; Kashi, Amir Shahram Yousefi; Jarrahi, Alireza Mosavi; Roshanmehr, Farnaz; Broomand, Mohammad Ali; Sandoughdaran, Saleh; Taghizadeh‐Hesary, Farzad

doi:10.31557/apjcp.2021.22.1.19

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Studies show that having symptomatic disease and developing severe disease seems to be determined by socio-demographic characteristics including male sex and older age. Having a history of pre-existing co-morbid illness particularly hypertension, diabetes, severe asthma, cancer, renal disease, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular diseases, and other co-morbidities were also found to be predictors of severe disease [ 6 – 23 ]. This is also reported in studies conducted in Ethiopia [ 4 , 5 , 24 – 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 disease severity and associated factors among Ethiopian patients: A study of the millennium COVID-19 care center

et al. 2022

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic started a little later in Ethiopia than the rest of the world and most of the initial cases were reported to have a milder disease course and a favorable outcome. This changed as the disease spread into the population and the more vulnerable began to develop severe disease. Understanding the risk factors for severe disease in Ethiopia was needed to provide optimal health care services in a resource limited setting. Objective The study assessed COVID-19 patients admitted to Millennium COVID-19 Care Center in Ethiopia for characteristics associated with COVID-19 disease severity. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to August 2020 among 686 randomly selected patients. Chi-square test was used to detect the presence of a statistically significant difference in the characteristics of the patients based on disease severity (Mild vs Moderate vs Severe). A multinomial logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with COVID-19 disease severity where Adjusted Odds ratio (AOR), 95% CIs for AOR and P-values were used for significance testing. Results Having moderate as compared with mild disease was significantly associated with having hypertension (AOR = 2.30, 95%CI = 1.27,4.18), diabetes mellitus (AOR = 2.61, 95%CI = 1.31,5.19for diabetes mellitus), fever (AOR = 6.12, 95%CI = 2.94,12.72) and headache (AOR = 2.69, 95%CI = 1.39,5.22). Similarly, having severe disease as compared with mild disease was associated with age group (AOR = 4.43, 95%CI = 2.49,7.85 for 40–59 years and AOR = 18.07, 95%CI = 9.29,35.14for ≥ 60 years), sex (AOR = 1.84, 95%CI = 1.12,3.03), hypertension (AOR = 1.97, 95%CI = 1.08,3.59), diabetes mellitus (AOR = 3.93, 95%CI = 1.96,7.85), fever (AOR = 13.22, 95%CI = 6.11, 28.60) and headache (AOR = 4.82, 95%CI = 2.32, 9.98). In addition, risk factors of severe disease as compared with moderate disease were found to be significantly associated with age group (AOR = 4.87, 95%CI = 2.85, 8.32 for 40–59 years and AOR = 18.91, 95%CI = 9.84,36.331 for ≥ 60 years), fever (AOR = 2.16, 95%CI = 1.29,3.63) and headache (AOR = 1.79, 95%CI = 1.03, 3.11). Conclusions Significant factors associated with severe COVID-19 in Ethiopia are being older than 60 years old, male, a diagnosis of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and the presence of fever and headache. This is consistent with severity indicators identified by WHO and suggests the initial finding of milder disease in Ethiopia may have been because the first people to get COVID-19 in the country were the relatively younger with fewer health problems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 disease severity and associated factors among Ethiopian patients: A study of the millennium COVID-19 care center

et al. 2022

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“…Individuals with cancer, especially those receiving treatment, have a compromised immune system due to cancer and its treatment [1,[4][5][6][7][8], but they are more exposed to the virus due to the need to regularly access hospitals for treatment [9,10]. Even those not receiving regular treatment need to attend follow-ups and periodical tests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cancer patients attending treatment during COVID-19: intolerance of uncertainty and psychological distress

et al. 2022

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Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic presents specific challenges for cancer patients attending oncology treatment. Using a mixed-methods design (convergent parallel design), we aimed to assess the experience, perceptions, and reactions of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Participants were cancer patients receiving treatment at the hospital during the pandemic (July to August 2020). In study 1, 95 participants filled out a questionnaire measuring COVID-19 experiences and perceptions, psychological distress, and intolerance of uncertainty. In study 2, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 cancer patients, probing their experience during the COVID-19 period. Results Most participants experienced the COVID-19 pandemic as a major threat that would affect future health, most attended all or most of their scheduled treatments, and their mean level of psychological distress was low. A mild decrease in social support was reported, and remote contacts and support from the community had not compensated for decreased person-to person contacts. In addition, intolerance of uncertainty was related to higher psychological distress, which was partially mediated by perceptions of threat. The analysis of in-depth interviews strengthened the quantitative findings by elucidating the experience of fear of contagion alongside determination to continue treatment. Conclusions and Implications for Cancer Survivors The mixed-methods design enabled us to examine the responses of cancer patients attending treatment. The findings suggest that in times of extreme uncertainty such as COVID-19, health experts need to screen cancer patients and survivors for emotional and instrumental support needs and identify patients and survivors with high intolerance of uncertainty as a risk factor for psychological distress.

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“…Hence, there is a need for patients and their families to have easy access to accurate, expert-reviewed information at the time they need it and in between formal appointments [6,8]. Further, patients with cancer are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic, which can impact their psychological health as well as their access to clinics [19,20]. As patient brochures or information on the internet might not be easily accessible for all patients and as older patients might have difficulties with reading or using a computer, voice assistants could offer a new opportunity to patients and their families.…”

Section: Principal Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convenient Access to Expert-Reviewed Health Information via an Alexa Voice Assistant Skill for Patients With Multiple Myeloma: Development Study

Baertsch¹,

Decker²,

Probst³

et al. 2022

JMIR Cancer

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Background Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) have high information needs due to the complexity of the disease and variety of treatments. Digital voice assistants provide support in daily life and can be a convenient tool that even older patients can use to access health information. Voice assistants may therefore be useful in providing digital health services to meet the information needs of patients with MM. Objective We aim to describe and report on the development, content, and functionality of the first Amazon Alexa voice assistant skill for patients with MM in Germany with the goal of empowering and educating patients. Further, we share data on skill usage and first learnings. Methods In a cocreation workshop with MM patient organizations and MM medical experts in Germany, Takeda Oncology discussed the development and content of the Alexa skill Multiple Myeloma. Patient information on MM disease, diagnostics, and therapy was presented in a question-and-answer format, reviewed by experts, and programmed into the skill. Additionally, a search function for finding patient support groups within a perimeter of 200 km around the users and a myeloma quiz functionality with multiple-choice questions were integrated into the skill. Aggregated retrospective data on the total number of skill installations and skill usage were retrieved from an Amazon Alexa developer account, and a web-based patient survey was conducted on the Takeda Oncology website. Results The Alexa skill Multiple Myeloma was launched in September 2019. It was available free of charge on the German Amazon Alexa skill store between September 2019 and March 2022 and could be used with devices featuring the Amazon Alexa voice assistant. Since the launch in September 2019 and up to July 2021, a total of 141 users have installed the skill. Between July 2020 and July 2021, a total of 189 skill sessions with 797 utterances were analyzed. The most popular inquiries were searches for patient support groups near the users (58/797, 7.3%), followed by inquiries about information on MM disease (53/797, 6.6%) and the quiz (43/797, 5.4%). The web-based survey on voice assistant usage and the feedback on the Alexa skill Multiple Myeloma were collected from 24 participants and showed that 46% (11/24) of participants would recommend the Alexa skill. Nonusers of voice assistants (11/24, 46%) stated that data protection concerns (7/11, 64%) and a lack of need (6/11, 55%) were the most important factors of not using voice assistants. Conclusions The Alexa skill Multiple Myeloma offers patient-friendly and expert-reviewed answers and explanations for medical terms related to MM disease, diagnostics, and therapy, as well as connections to patient support groups and a quiz functionality. In the future, the skill can be extended with new content and functionalities, such as medication adherence support.

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Review on the Oncology Practice in the Midst of COVID-19 Crisis: The Challenges and Solutions

Cited by 21 publications

References 53 publications

COVID-19 disease severity and associated factors among Ethiopian patients: A study of the millennium COVID-19 care center

COVID-19 disease severity and associated factors among Ethiopian patients: A study of the millennium COVID-19 care center

Cancer patients attending treatment during COVID-19: intolerance of uncertainty and psychological distress

Convenient Access to Expert-Reviewed Health Information via an Alexa Voice Assistant Skill for Patients With Multiple Myeloma: Development Study

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