Oncology Healthcare Professionals’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The paper begins by reviewing the literature on oncology healthcare professionals’ (HCP) mental health. We summarize and present the current data on HCP mental health in order to understand the baseline state of oncology HCPs’ mental health status prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. At each juncture, we will discuss the implications of these mental health variables on the personal lives of HCPs, the healthcare system, and patient care. We follow by reviewing the literature on these parameters during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the overall mental health of HCPs working in oncology. By reviewing and summarizing the data before and after the start of the pandemic, we will get a fuller picture of the pre-existing stressors facing oncology HCPs and the added burden caused by pandemic-related stresses. The second part of this review paper will discuss the implications for the oncology workforce and offer recommendations based on the research literature in order to improve the lives of HCPs, and in the process, improve patient care.

Exploring the impact of COVID‐19 on the psychological well‐being of oncology healthcare professionals

“…Around 60% of participants felt supported by their friends and family, and their workplace, during COVID (Banerjee et al, 2021). Similarly, a UK study by Ferry et al (2021) found that HCPs who were younger, female, had been redeployed from their usual role and worked in areas dedicated to COVID‐19 patients had increased likelihood of moderate to severe burnout, with complementary findings reported by a recent literature review focused on oncology professionals' mental health during the pandemic (Granek & Nakash, 2022). Increased risk of burnout and psychological distress is perhaps unsurprising when considering the additional stressors that oncology HCPs faced during the pandemic; in addition to workplace‐level challenges (e.g.…”

“…reduced in‐person contact with patients; redeployment; increased patient distress and complexity in needs), oncology HCPs report experiencing personal‐level difficulties such as worry about risk to family and friends, concern regarding personal health, financial pressures (e.g. due to concerns about job insecurity and career progression/development) and difficulties balancing work with family life, for example home schooling (Downey & Ash‐Lee, 2021; Granek & Nakash, 2022).…”

Resilience at Work among Healthcare Professionals in Oncology during and beyond the Pandemic: Report from A Deliberative Multi-Stakeholder Reflexive Symposium

“…The ability of healthcare professionals (HCPs) to manage and mitigate the adverse effects of facing difficult situations is essential to maintaining quality care for people living with and beyond cancer (PLWBC). Adversity arises from daily exposure to the suffering of patients, heavy workload and time pressures, workforce shortages, and administrative burdens [1]. The lengthy and profound disruption produced by the COVID-19 pandemic compounded a longstanding cancer crisis [2], aggravating scarcities of material and human resources and the siloed functioning of cancer care provision [3,4].…”

“…Psychosocial clinicians working in oncology settings (e.g., social workers, psychologists) show a similarly high risk of burnout [10]. Since 2020, there has been an exponential increase in studies on stress at work among oncology HCPs, responding to the exacerbation of work-related stress syndromes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic [1,3,11].…”

“…The authors concluded that no high-quality theory-based interventions were available during the pandemic and that these could be useful in other crises. Multi-level interventions to move the burden of facing adversity from individual HCPs to organizational and national cancer plan levels have not yet appeared [1]. As healthcare and health system challenges multiply, resilience at work in oncology appears to be imperative and demands pragmatic solutions.…”