ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has caused disruptions in health care, in particular cancer screenings. The primary aim of our work was to evaluate the degree to which populations were accepting of home-based screenings for colorectal cancer (CRC) and cervical cancer (primary HPV testing). Three groups of adults having distinct health burdens which may affect acceptance of home-based cancer screening were identified through outpatient electronic medical records as follows as either having survived a COVID hospitalization, having been positive for non-COVID respiratory illness or having type 2 diabetes. 132 respondents (58% female) completed an online survey with hypothetical cases about their acceptance of home-based CRC or cervical cancer screening. Among females, urine and vaginal screening for primary HPV testing was acceptable to 64% and 59%, respectively. Among both males and females, CRC home screening with fecal immunochemical test (FIT) or Cologuard was acceptable to 60% of the respondents. When adjusting for education, women with a positive attitude toward home-based urine /vaginal screening were 49 times and 23 times more likely to have a positive attitude toward CRC screening (aOR=48.7 (95% CI: 7.1, 337) and aOR=23.2 (95% CI: 3.8, 142), respectively). This report indicates that home-based cancer screens for CRC and primary HPV testing are acceptable to men and women and may allow for greater compliance with screening in the future.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 , Papillomavirus Infections , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms , Adult , Male , Female , Humans , Early Detection of Cancer , SARS-CoV-2 , Pandemics , Patient-Centered CareABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health care delivery of cancer screenings. The primary aim of our work was to evaluate the degree to which populations were accepting of home-based screenings for colorectal cancer (CRC) and cervical cancer (ie, primary human papillomavirus [HPV] testing). Three groups of adults having distinct health burdens that may affect acceptance of home-based cancer screening were identified through outpatient electronic medical records: those having survived a COVID-19 hospitalization; those having been positive for a non-COVID-19 respiratory illness; or those having type 2 diabetes. A total of 132 respondents (58% female) completed an online survey with hypothetical cases about their acceptance of home-based CRC or cervical cancer screening. Among women respondents, urine and vaginal screening for primary HPV testing was acceptable to 64% and 59%, respectively. Among both men and women, at-home CRC screening with fecal immunochemical test or Cologuard® was acceptable to 60% of the respondents. When adjusting for education, women with a positive attitude toward home-based urine and vaginal screening were 49 times and 23 times more likely, respectively, to have a positive attitude toward CRC screening. These findings indicate that home-based cancer screens for CRC and primary HPV testing are acceptable to men and women and may allow for greater compliance with screening in the future.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for adults with chronic and acute illnesses informs health and economic policy for pandemic recovery. Our primary aim was to compare HRQoL of 3 illness groups of outpatient adults: those with diabetes, those who survived a hospitalization for COVID-19, and those who had a respiratory virus not COVID-19. The secondary aim was to compare the group domain summary scores to the referent general population. METHODS: We identified the 3 groups from the electronic medical record and invited them to complete the SF-36 survey. Analysis of variance and post hoc testing was used for univariate analyses followed by linear regression. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-two adults completed the survey. The groups differed least for physical functioning and most for emotional/mental health. The hospitalized group had the greatest limitation in role due to emotional issues. All groups had significantly lower social functioning scores than the general population. Linear regression showed lower HRQoL domain score in role limitations due to emotional issues adjusted for age, race, and gender for the hospitalized group. CONCLUSION: SF-36 scores show the decrease in HRQoL that outpatient adults have suffered, mostly in the emotional domain, regardless of illness group during the COVID-19 pandemic.