ABSTRACT
Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the detection of malignant neoplasms (MNPs) when implementing secondary preventive measures against cancer in municipal healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The model of the Volga Federal District (VFD) of Russia was used to conduct analytical and statistical studies of the rates of active detection of MNPs in the municipal healthcare facilities in 2019-2020. The demographic indicators and state statistics data, which were publicly available on the Internet, on the official websites of the territorial health authorities, oncology dispensaries of the VFD subjects, were comparatively analyzed. A database (State Registration Certificate of the Russian Federation under No. 2021621834/01.09.21) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of secondary preventive measures against cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Results. Compared to 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 2.1% expansion in the network of patients' examination rooms mainly due to an increase in the number of male rooms by 5.6% and mixed-type rooms by 6.3%. The number of mid-level healthcare workers that provided the functioning of patients' examination rooms rose by 5.2%;the proportion of specialists trained in the area of oncology decreased by 20% (85% in 2019 and 68.1% in 2020). The introduction of restrictive measures determined a statistically significant (p<0.05) decline in the proportion of people who had undergone a primary medical examination in the male (32.9%), female (35.6%), and general (34.7%) populations. The mean frequency of detected MNPs in 2019 and 2020 was 0.91 and 0.76, respectively (a 16.5% decrease). There was an increase in the incidence of lung cancer (LC) (a 4.2% increase) and a reduction in that of breast cancer (BC) (a 56.6% decrease). A comparative assessment of changes in the rate of active detection of MNPs in healthcare facilities at all health levels revealed a negative increase in its mean value in 2020 versus 2019 for colorectal cancer (CRC) (-25.6%), LC (-25.0% ), BC (-11.6%), cervical cancer (CC) (-12.4%), and prostate cancer (PC) (-2.1%). The prognosis of the number of actively detected MNP cases during the pandemic shows that, provided that the effectiveness of MNP detection rates remains the same as in 2019;there were no CRC (n = about 1100 cases), LC (n=1050), BC (n=1470), CC (n=300), and PC (n=300) cases in the VFD in 2020. An analysis of the effectiveness of secondary preventive measures against LC and BC in the VFD showed that among the number of newly diagnosed cases of a disease in 2019, there were LC (92.3%) and BC (75.1%) cases in the municipal healthcare facilities;there were LC (100%) and BC (60.9%) cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in the number of participants in preventive activities. Considering the uneven territorial spread of COVID-19, the development of a methodology for the preventive measures adapted to a pandemic, mainly in the municipal healthcare facilities, is an extremely important area of preventive healthcare activities.Copyright © 2022, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the detection of malignant neoplasms (MNPs) when implementing secondary preventive measures against cancer in municipal healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and methods. The model of the Volga Federal District (VFD) of Russia was used to conduct analytical and statistical studies of the rates of active detection of MNPs in the municipal healthcare facilities in 2019-2020. The demographic indicators and state statistics data, which were publicly available on the Internet, on the official websites of the territorial health authorities, oncology dispensaries of the VFD subjects, were comparatively analyzed. A database (State Registration Certificate of the Russian Federation under No. 2021621834/01.09.21) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of secondary preventive measures against cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Results. Compared to 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 2.1% expansion in the network of patients’ examination rooms mainly due to an increase in the number of male rooms by 5.6% and mixed-type rooms by 6.3%. The number of mid-level healthcare workers that provided the functioning of patients’ examination rooms rose by 5.2%;the proportion of specialists trained in the area of oncology decreased by 20% (85% in 2019 and 68.1% in 2020). The introduction of restrictive measures determined a statistically significant (p<0.05) decline in the proportion of people who had undergone a primary medical examination in the male (32.9%), female (35.6%), and general (34.7%) populations. The mean frequency of detected MNPs in 2019 and 2020 was 0.91‰ and 0.76‰, respectively (a 16.5% decrease). There was an increase in the incidence of lung cancer (LC) (a 4.2% increase) and a reduction in that of breast cancer (BC) (a 56.6% decrease). A comparative assessment of changes in the rate of active detection of MNPs in healthcare facilities at all health levels revealed a negative increase in its mean value in 2020 versus 2019 for colorectal cancer (CRC) (–25.6%), LC (–25.0% ), BC (–11.6%), cervical cancer (CC) (–12.4%), and prostate cancer (PC) (–2.1%). The prognosis of the number of actively detected MNP cases during the pandemic shows that, provided that the effectiveness of MNP detection rates remains the same as in 2019;there were no CRC (n = about 1100 cases), LC (n=1050), BC (n=1470), CC (n=300), and PC (n=300) cases in the VFD in 2020. An analysis of the effectiveness of secondary preventive measures against LC and BC in the VFD showed that among the number of newly diagnosed cases of a disease in 2019, there were LC (92.3%) and BC (75.1%) cases in the municipal healthcare facilities;there were LC (100%) and BC (60.9%) cases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in the number of participants in preventive activities. Considering the uneven territorial spread of COVID-19, the development of a methodology for the preventive measures adapted to a pandemic, mainly in the municipal healthcare facilities, is an extremely important area of preventive healthcare activities. © 2022, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.