Ethnic Differences in Cancer Deaths at Home before and during Pandemic

Introduction Place of death is a metric used for planning and monitoring palliative care (PC). The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a significant increase in cancer deaths at home. Aims To determine whether pandemic increases in the percentage of cancer deaths at home differ by ethnic group Methods Data source: death registrations in England, 2018 to 2021 with underlying cause of death cancer (ICD-10 C00-C97). Ethnic group derived from linked hospital episode data. The age and deprivation distribution across ethnic groups varies and each has a strong independent effect on place of death. so, calculated percentage deaths at home were standardised by these factors to make them comparable. Analysis concentrated on the largest ethnic groups: White, Asian/Asian British (Asian), and Black/African/ Caribbean/Black British (Black). Comparisons were made between time periods by analysis of the ratio of percentages 2020-2021 (COVID-19 Pandemic) vs 2018-2019 (Baseline). Results For each ethnic group the age-standardised percentage of cancer deaths at home significantly increased (P < 0.05) from 2018-2019 to 2020-2021 . Asian: 33.5%, 47.5% . Black: 28.8%, 39.0% . White: 30.7%, 41.2% The ratio of standardised percentage of deaths at home (95% CI) was . Asian: 1.42 (1.36,1.48 ) . Black: 1.35 (1.27, 1.44) . White 1.34 (1.33, 1.35) Conclusions Cancer deaths at home increased by > 10 percentage points during the pandemic for Asians, Blacks and Whites. Significant differences between ethnic groups before the pandemic (2018-19) persisted with Asians more likely than Whites, and Blacks less likely than Whites to die at home. The largest increase was for Asians, the group with the highest pre-pandemic home deaths. Impact These ethnic differences merit investigation regarding cultural preferences, access issues and quality of PC experience. Community health and PC teams need additional resources and training in culturally sensitive care to support the increased number of ethnically diverse cancer patients dying at home.

European Cancer Summit 2022 submission for Special Network: Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on CancerImpact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Surgery and Cancer Mortality in England

Background: During the pandemic there has been an impact on the number of patients entering the cancer pathway, because of changes in patients presenting and GP referral behaviours. The aim was to understand whether different groups in our society have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic in terms of the care they have received for their cancer. Method(s): The study looked specifically at elective admissions from the Hospital Episode Statistics data for all cancers combined and separately for breast, bowel, lung, and prostate cancers to investigate the number of patients admitted for cancer surgery over time. The ONS Mortality Dataset was used to investigate the place of death for patients who had died from cancer. Mortality rates were calculated to identify whether there was a rise in in-hospital mortality during the pandemic. Deaths were defined as an in-hospital death for a patient admitted with a primary diagnosis of cancer. Age-standardised mortality rates were created across the last five years, broken down by cancer type, sex and deprivation quintile. Result(s): The analysis shows a decrease in patients undergoing surgery at the start of the pandemic for all demographic groups. At the start of the pandemic, the largest decreases for all cancers combined by ethnicity could be seen in White (42.6%) and Asian or Asian British (44.6%). While by age, the largest decrease was seen in women aged 40-49. For lung cancer surgery, there were differences by deprivation quintile during the recovery period, showing a 42.0% increase in the least deprived compared to a 27.6% increase in the most deprived. However, changes at the beginning of the pandemic were similar across all quintiles. Age standardised mortality rates showed an increase in in-hospital deaths following the start of the pandemic. Conclusion(s): While we know that there are inequalities in access to cancer surgery, particularly by age, for the most part, the results of our analysis indicate that the recovery period of the COVID-19 pandemic has not exacerbated these inequalities. However, it is difficult to understand the extent to which any variation in access to cancer services is unwarranted.Copyright © 2023

PUBLIC VIEWS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: A UK BASED MIXED METHOD STUDY

Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic presents the greatest challenge to public health in living memory. To slow the spread of the virus the UK initiated periods of strict social distancing, or lockdown. The ongoing social and psychological impacts of the pandemic and lockdowns are still under investigation. We aimed to explore longitudinally the attitudes and behaviors of members of the UK public from the start of UK lockdowns in March, 2020. We focused on mental health, adherence to health behaviours and government regulations, perceptions of vaccinations, and impact on Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) participants. Method: Focus groups (2-8 people, 60 min) and surveys were conducted with 57 UK residents from March 23, 2020 to the present at 5 different timepoints that captured lockdowns and firebreaks (93% retention). Participants were 51% Female, mean age 37.1 (Range: 20-60), 72% White, 5% Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups, 16% Asian or Asian British, and 7% Black, African, Caribbean or Black British. Surveys included the Patient Health Questionnaire - Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms (PHQ-SADS), the Capabilities, Opportunities, Motivations and Behaviours questionnaire (COM-B), and coronavirus specific questions such as vaccination intention. Qualitative results: The central theme was that of loss;'practical losses' e.g. income and 'psychological losses' e.g. motivation. Loss improved, but uncertainty and anticipatory anxiety continued across timepoints. Reported mental health issues improved over Summer 2020 and worsened in Nov 2020. Alert fatigue and learned helplessness emerged as the main themes at that time and marginalization by BAME participants. Behavioural adherence and vaccination uptake focused around perception of risk and community vs individual responsibility. Quantitative results: Data will be analysed following the current wave of data collection (Nov-Dec 2021) and will presented in March, 2022. Conclusion: Mental health fluctuated with the ability to socially connect with others outside of the household. Feelings of loss improved over time. Alert fatigue and general mistrust in government increased as did learned helplessness resulting in a loss of motivation. Results have had a significant policy and media impact in the UK and resulted in several publications to date.