Cancers (Dec 2021)
Mental Health and Adherence to COVID-19 Protective Behaviors among Cancer Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International, Multinational Cross-Sectional Study
- Angelos P. Kassianos,
- Alexandros Georgiou,
- Maria Kyprianidou,
- Demetris Lamnisos,
- Jeļena Ļubenko,
- Giovambattista Presti,
- Valeria Squatrito,
- Marios Constantinou,
- Christiana Nicolaou,
- Savvas Papacostas,
- Gökçen Aydin,
- Yuen Yu Chong,
- Wai Tong Chien,
- Ho Yu Cheng,
- Francisco J. Ruiz,
- Maria B. Garcia-Martin,
- Diana Obando,
- Miguel A. Segura-Vargas,
- Vasilis S. Vasiliou,
- Louise McHugh,
- Stefan Höfer,
- Adriana Baban,
- David Dias Neto,
- Ana Nunes da Silva,
- Jean-Louis Monestès,
- Javier Alvarez-Galvez,
- Marisa Paez Blarrina,
- Francisco Montesinos,
- Sonsoles Valdivia Salas,
- Dorottya Őri,
- Bartosz Kleszcz,
- Raimo Lappalainen,
- Iva Ivanović,
- David Gosar,
- Frederick Dionne,
- Rhonda M. Merwin,
- Andreas Chatzittofis,
- Evangelia Konstantinou,
- Sofia Economidou,
- Andrew T. Gloster,
- Maria Karekla,
- Anastasia Constantinidou
Affiliations
- Angelos P. Kassianos
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 2109, Cyprus
- Alexandros Georgiou
- Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus
- Maria Kyprianidou
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 2109, Cyprus
- Demetris Lamnisos
- Department of Health Sciences, European University of Cyprus, Nicosia 2109, Cyprus
- Jeļena Ļubenko
- Psychological Laboratory, Faculty of Public Health and Social Welfare, Riga Stradins University, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia
- Giovambattista Presti
- Human and Social Sciences Department, University of Enna Kore, 94100 Enna, Italy
- Valeria Squatrito
- Human and Social Sciences Department, University of Enna Kore, 94100 Enna, Italy
- Marios Constantinou
- Department of Psychology, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 1516, Cyprus
- Christiana Nicolaou
- Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol 3041, Cyprus
- Savvas Papacostas
- Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
- Gökçen Aydin
- Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep 27010, Turkey
- Yuen Yu Chong
- The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Wai Tong Chien
- The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Ho Yu Cheng
- The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Francisco J. Ruiz
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de La Sabana, Chia 140013, Colombia
- Maria B. Garcia-Martin
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de La Sabana, Chia 140013, Colombia
- Diana Obando
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de La Sabana, Chia 140013, Colombia
- Miguel A. Segura-Vargas
- Department of Psychology, Universidad de La Sabana, Chia 140013, Colombia
- Vasilis S. Vasiliou
- School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork (UCC), T23 XE10 Cork, Ireland
- Louise McHugh
- School of Psychology, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin 4, Ireland
- Stefan Höfer
- Department of Medical Psychology, Medical University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
- Adriana Baban
- Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, 400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- David Dias Neto
- ISPA—Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal
- Ana Nunes da Silva
- Department of Psychology, University of Lisbon, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal
- Jean-Louis Monestès
- LIP/PC2S, Université Grenoble Alpes, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Javier Alvarez-Galvez
- Department of Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Public Health, University of Cadiz, 11009 Cadiz, Spain
- Marisa Paez Blarrina
- Instituto ACT, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Francisco Montesinos
- Instituto ACT, 28049 Madrid, Spain
- Sonsoles Valdivia Salas
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, Universidad de Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain
- Dorottya Őri
- Department of Mental Health, Heim Pal National Pediatric Institute, H-1089 Budapest, Hungary
- Bartosz Kleszcz
- Private Practice, 41-200 Sosnowiecz, Poland
- Raimo Lappalainen
- Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
- Iva Ivanović
- Department of Child Psychiatry, Institute for Children’s Diseases, Clinical Centre of Montenegro, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
- David Gosar
- Department of Child, Adolescent and Developmental Neurology, University Children’s Hospital Ljubljana, University Medical Center Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Frederick Dionne
- Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
- Rhonda M. Merwin
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
- Andreas Chatzittofis
- Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 1678, Cyprus
- Evangelia Konstantinou
- Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus
- Sofia Economidou
- Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus
- Andrew T. Gloster
- Division of Clinical Psychology & Intervention Science, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, 4055 Basel, Switzerland
- Maria Karekla
- Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia 2109, Cyprus
- Anastasia Constantinidou
- Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre, Nicosia 2006, Cyprus
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246294
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13,
no. 24
p. 6294
Abstract
A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted during the first COVID-19 wave, to examine the impact of COVID-19 on mental health using an anonymous online survey, enrolling 9565 individuals in 78 countries. The current sub-study examined the impact of the pandemic and the associated lockdown measures on the mental health, and protective behaviors of cancer patients in comparison to non-cancer participants. Furthermore, 264 participants from 30 different countries reported being cancer patients. The median age was 51.5 years, 79.9% were female, and 28% had breast cancer. Cancer participants reported higher self-efficacy to follow recommended national guidelines regarding COVID-19 protective behaviors compared to non-cancer participants (p p p < 0.01), and had higher levels of positive affect compared to non-cancer participants. Amongst cancer participants, the majority (80.3%) reported COVID-19, not their cancer, as their priority during the first wave of the pandemic and females reported higher levels of stress compared to males. In conclusion, cancer participants appeared to have handled the unpredictable nature of the first wave of the pandemic efficiently, with a positive attitude towards an unknown and otherwise frightening situation. Larger, cancer population specific and longitudinal studies are warranted to ensure adequate medical and psychological care for cancer patients.
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