2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer (ePosters)-EP10.01-009. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Palliative Care for Cancer: A Preliminary Cross-Country Survey of Clinical Oncologists

EP10.01-009. The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Palliative Care for Cancer: A Preliminary Cross-Country Survey of Clinical Oncologists

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A preliminary survey conducted in China has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on palliative care for cancer patients. The survey involved 37 oncologists and aimed to investigate the influence of the pandemic on palliative care from the perspective of these healthcare professionals. The majority of participants were male (78%) with a median age of 40. Most of the participants had doctor degrees (68%) and worked in urban areas (81%). One-third of participants were from the department of radiation oncology and 24% were from medical oncology. The survey found that the participants usually practiced palliative care in professional medical centers or hospitals (70%), but 57% had only non-accredited training experience. <br /><br />The survey revealed that most participants believed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on their clinical work (76%) and palliative care practice (65%). Additionally, 73% of participants felt that the current palliative care system in China was underdeveloped, and 78% believed that factors other than the pandemic contributed to this inadequacy. <br /><br />Participants provided suggestions on improving palliative care under the current impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These suggestions included more online guidance on palliative care for patients (35%), strengthening remote multidisciplinary cooperation (29%), promoting home-based palliative care (18%), and incorporating more information on COVID-19 in palliative care guidelines (6%). <br /><br />In conclusion, the survey highlights the significant negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on palliative care for cancer patients. The findings emphasize the need for measures to improve the clinical practice of palliative care during the pandemic, taking into account factors beyond COVID-19.

Asset Subtitle

Yu Wang

Meta Tag

Speaker Yu Wang

Topic Palliative and Supportive Care

Keywords

preliminary survey

China

COVID-19 pandemic

palliative care

cancer patients

oncologists

influence

healthcare professionals

clinical work

negative impact