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The aim of the study was to assess the frequency of symptoms of post-COVID syndrome by means of a questionnaire among medical university employees. Material and methods. From March 2021 to February 2022, an anonymous online survey was conducted at the A.I. Yevdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation. Only 313 fully completed questionnaires were selected for analysis. Results and discussion. A wide range of asthenic, infectious-inflammatory, respiratory, cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, gastroenterological and dermatological symptoms were noted both during the peak period and during the convalescence of COVID-19. According to the subjective data of respondents, for more than 3 months, various symptoms associated with deterioration of health after recovering from a new coronavirus infection persisted in 25.9% of cases. Within 3-6 months after the illness and more than 6 months, 44.6% and 55.4% of respondents noted the presence of symptoms of post-COVID syndrome, respectively. During the analysis, it was found that with an increase in the volume of lung damage according to CT data, there was a tendency to increase the proportion of respondents with a long-term (more than 6 months) persistent symptoms of post-COVID syndrome from 20% with CT score 0, up to 29% with CT score 1-2 and up to 58% with CT score 3-4. In this regard, apparently, it is necessary to develop additional screening programs as part of the medical examination of COVID-19 patients. Conclusion. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes a wide range of symptoms both during the period of the disease and during the period of convalescence. Attention should be paid to the need for a targeted survey of patients who have undergone COVID-19 to identify the manifestations of post-COVID syndrome and conduct their medical examination with the participation of a multidisciplinary team.Copyright © Eco-Vector, 2022.
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Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused Indonesia to take several actions and strategies in controlling the spread of infection. Padang is one of the cities in West Sumatera, Indonesia that has the highest number of COVID-19 cases. The usage of technology as a tool to minimize contact with infection in dental health care has been proven effective. However, teledentistry as an implementation of this technology is often hampered by legal issues, especially in data security. Aim(s): The purpose of this study is to determine dental practitioners' understanding of legal elements of teledentistry in Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia. Methodology: An electronic questionnaire survey with 10 questions was developed by Google Forms, validated, and distributed electronically by zoom to 168 dental practitioners before and after the intervention. Statistical Analysis: Collected data were analyzed for statistical significance by using SPSS software (Version 16.0).. Result(s): There is a lack of prior knowledge of teledentistry in legal aspects among dental practitioners. A significant level of percentage of participants' knowledge regarding the teledentistry legal aspects has increased after the intervention. Conclusion(s): The majority of the respondents in this survey lacked adequate information and understanding of the legal aspects of teledentistry. Seminars and training are needed to increase dental practitioners' knowledge of the legal issue in teledentistry.Copyright © 2023 Kasuma et al.
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Routine vaccination activities, such as detection, reporting, and management of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs), are generally handled by healthcare providers (HCPs). Safe vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were introduced to control the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study aimed to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and practice of HCPs in Iraq about reporting adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, and their association with sociodemographic variables. The study was a cross-sectional study that was carried out between August and September 2021 at the COVID-19 vaccination centers in Iraq. This study used an online and paper-based questionnaire, which was distributed among HCPs (physicians and pharmacists) in COVID-19 vaccination centers. A total of 117 pharmacists and physicians responded to the survey. Two-thirds of respondents were pharmacists. The majority of the respondents (49.6%) had fair knowledge levels on AEFIs. The perception of 43% of the participants was very good, whereas the perception of 28%, 23%, and 6% of the participants was fair, good, and poor, respectively. The reporting practice of HCPs was inadequate in 53% of respondents. The number of pharmacists who had good knowledge of AEFIs was significantly higher than that of the physicians. The age group (30-39) years of HCPs was significantly associated with more positive perception towards AEFIs. The number of pharmacists that had good perception was significantly higher than that of the physicians. Furthermore, HCPs aged 30 to 39 years had significantly higher reporting practices than other age groups. The study highlighted that the HCPs working at the COVID-19 vaccination centers have low knowledge of AEFIs. On the other hand, HCPs had more positive perception towards reporting AEFIs. Education programs and reference materials are needed to increase their awareness about AEFIs.Copyright © 2022 University of Baghdad - College of Pharmacy. All rights reserved.
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For almost 35 years, the Swissworking Group for interventional Cardiology of the Swiss Society of Cardiology has evaluated and assessed the invasive diagnostic and therapeutic heart interventions performed annually in Switzerland.the aim of this survey, which was completed by 36 centres using a standardised questionnaire, was to report the data for the year 2020. Overall, 53,088 coronary angiographies with 48.8% subsequent percutaneous coronary interventions, i.e., 8.6% less than in 2019, were performed. regarding structural interventions, there were 1790 transcatheter aortic valve implantations, with a decrease of 6.4% compared with 2019.this decrease was most likely due to the coronavirus disease (COvid-19) pandemic and its consequences on the Swiss healthcare system.Copyright © 2021 Edizioni Minerva Medica.
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The governmental restrictions in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic led to social isolation, with many people spending more time at home with their pets. The relationships between pet ownership, pet attachment, and wellbeing were examined using two online surveys: one in the early stages of the pandemic (May, 2020) and the other over one year later (September, 2021). Resilience, optimism, and basic psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness) were examined as potential moderators. Study 1 had an international sample of 495 participants (70% pet owners), while study 2 had a UK sample of 243 participants (57% pet owners). Most participants reported that their pets provided emotional comfort and had a positive impact on their lives during the early stages of the pandemic. Pet ownership and pet attachment were positively associated with wellbeing in people with low levels of resilience. Conversely, people with high resilience who were pet owners or had higher pet attachment had lower wellbeing than non-pet owners and those less attached. Optimism and basic psychological need satisfaction were not significant moderators. Although some of the associations found in study 1 might have been specific to the beginning of the pandemic, other results were replicated a year later in the UK sample when social restrictions were eased (study 2). The findings from the two studies suggest that higher scores on a subscale of pet attachment, which involves the pet playing a more central role than humans in the owner's life, might be directly linked to lower resilience and wellbeing and increased loneliness. The combination of high resilience and higher levels of pet attachment or pet ownership might be unfavorable. Nonetheless, pet ownership and healthy human-animal bonds can be protective factors for people with low levels of resilience.Copyright © 2022 International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ).
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Pandeglang District Government in the implementation of road traffic and transportation development is directed to improve the implementation of road traffic and transportation in all modes of transportation in an integrated manner and have sustainable interconnectivity by taking into account all aspects of people's lives to realize the goal. In the land transportation sector, the main attention is currently directed to the problem of inter-city and urban transportation. One of the priorities for the road and bridge infrastructure development program is to lead to a stable road, leaving the Cipanas-Warung Banten road segment which is targeted for completion in 2020 and subsequently a program of crossing structuring and widening of road sections that do not meet the technical standards of provincial roads with a minimum width of 7,0 meters pavements will be carried out. At the beginning of 2020 there were floods and landslides in the Lebak Regency area, as well as the Covid-19 outbreak that had hit since March 2020, causing the development performance targets for roads and bridges to be in stable condition and meeting the technical standards of provincial road widths to be delayed. Transportation infrastructure problems related to interconnectivity between toll roads, national roads, provincial roads, district roads and village roads, have become a major concern in studies related to their management policies. The research method used in this research is the descriptive qualitative research method. This study requires data to conclude the results of the study, so the researcher uses book studies/literature reviews.Copyright © 2023, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Aim: To assess the hardships faced by dentists during covid pandemic. Introduction: COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The primary clinical appearances are respiratory in nature. Dental practitioners are among the most elevated hazard categories for transmission of covid since numerous dental methods have the potential to transmit the disease. Material(s) and Method(s): A cross sectional survey via an online questionnaire of 11 close ended questions was done. It was circulated via Google forms. The questionnaire contains questions on demographic details also. Data was collected and tabulated in excel sheet and statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 23. A total of 133 dentists responded to the study. Result(s): Most of the dentists reported that they were worried about operational and financial challenges to run their practice during Covid-19 pandemic. 53.4% of the dentists were male while 46.6% of the participants were female. Most of the dentists agreed that they are at higher risk of contracting covid-19 than other medical professionals. Most of the dentists agreed that they may be the major cause of transmitting the infection to their patients. Conclusion(s): During Covid-19, dentists had to face a lot of ethical and moral dilemmas along with facing operational challenges. This led to a negative impact on their lives, the present study draws our attention towards the hardships they faced.Copyright © 2022 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.
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The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) pandemic on the lives and medical care of Japanese patients with Fabry disease and how healthcare providers can support the continued treatment of these patients in the future. A questionnaire survey was conducted with members of the Japan Fabry Disease Patients and Family Association. The questionnaire was mailed to 156 patients and was returned by 87 (response rate, 56%);83 questionnaires were considered valid and were analyzed. The study found that most of patients with Fabry disease had already received or wanted to receive a vaccine and were "very worried" about COVID- 19. In addition, the COVID- 19 pandemic had changed the patients' lives and affected their physical and mental health. Although the percentage of patients who were able to continue treatment was higher than we expected and the percentage who wanted home infusion therapy was lower than we expected, some patients were anxious about coming to the hospital or had switched to oral pharmacological chaperone therapy. Therefore, to be prepared for pandemics, such as COVID- 19, a system of care at home for patients with Fabry disease should be developed.Copyright © 2022 Jikei University School of Medicine. All rights reserved.
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Introduction: The impact of COVID-19 social restrictions on mental wellbeing of health professional students during placement is largely unknown. Conventional survey methods do not capture emotional fluctuations. Increasing use of smartphones suggests short message service (SMS) functionality could provide easy, rapid data. This project tested the feasibility and validity of gathering data on Therapeutic Radiography student mental wellbeing during clinical placement via emoji and SMS. Methods: Participants provided anonymous daily emoji responses via WhatsApp to a dedicated mobile phone. Additional weekly prompts sought textual responses indicating factors impacting on wellbeing. A short anonymous online survey validated responses and provided feedback on the method. Results: Participants (n = 15) provided 254 daily responses using 108 different emoji;these triangulated with weekly textual responses. Feedback concerning the method was positive. 'Happy' emoji were used most frequently;social interaction and fatigue were important wellbeing factors. Anonymity and opportunity to feedback via SMS were received positively;ease and rapidity of response engendered engagement throughout the 3-week study. Conclusions: The use of emoji for rapid assessment of cohort mental wellbeing is valid and potentially useful alongside more formal evaluation and support strategies. Capturing simple wellbeing responses from a cohort may facilitate the organisation of timely support interventions. © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press.
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Objectives: This article aims to discover the impact of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown on diabetes patients living in Almadina, Saudi Arabia, in terms of their lifestyle and on their follow-up. Method(s): This is a cross-sectional, qualitative prospective study, a questionnaire was done to diabetic patients who underwent the quarantine period in Madinah, Saudi Arabia through an online questionnaire after getting informed consent to participation. The survey included personal, medical data, patient's compliance to treatment and overall lifestyle manner before and during lockdown period and psychological assessment using 10 questions of the (K10) Kessler psychological distress scale. Data analysis was performed using SPSS program version 26. Result(s): A total of patients 350 participated in the study. 56.6% of them were females(n;198), and 43.4% were males(n:152), their ages ranged from 18 years to more than 60 years. The vast majority 96.3% of participated were of Saudi nationality, while 3.7% are non-Saudi. Participants-with types 2 Diabetes represent 31.4% while 26% suffer from type 1 diabetes and the rest they don't which type they have. Results showed no significant differences in: (symptoms of low or high blood sugar, the extent to which a healthy diet is followed, the frequency of home blood sugar measurement) before and during the quarantine period. The rest of the variables shows a significant difference (P<0.05) Conclusion(s): The study showed a difference in the extent of adherence to medication during the quarantine period compared to before. A reduction constructive in lifestyle habits is detected. Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has unprecedented consequences on stress, isolation, and financial well-being for family caregivers of people with dementia globally. In Vietnam, soaring COVID-19 cases have led to widespread social distancing, isolation, and quarantine orders from the government. To date, limited evidence exists about the situation of persons with dementia and their family caregivers during the pandemic in Vietnam. Objective(s): The study aimed to provide insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family caregivers of people with dementia. Method(s): Mixed methods were used, and data collection took place in two rounds. In the first round during the first wave of infections at Ho Chi Minh City, semi-structured interviews with caregivers and health care workers (n = 16) were conducted and analysed thematically. In the second round, this data will be complemented with survey data from family caregivers of people with dementia (n = 30). The survey includes a combination of closed- and open-ended questions on the impact of the pandemic on the caregivers' health and caregiving responsibilities. Result(s): Results of the first round of data collection showed a high impact of the pandemic on caregivers resulting in negative psychosocial and emotional consequences of caregivers such as worry, stress, frustration as well as restrictions in time and place. Caregivers had reduced access to counselling services needed. At the same time, treatment services for people with dementia were reduced or even halted. The results from the survey will give additional insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family caregivers of people with dementia, including their challenges and concerns. These results will help to adapt counselling and treatment services for dementia family caregivers and will be presented in detail. Conclusion(s): The study will lead to a better understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family caregivers of people with dementia and will facilitate the adaptation of the existing as well as integration of new topics into our caregiver counselling program. Additionally, the development of (digital) self-help groups for caregivers could be another option to prevent disruption of the health care system and to ensure ongoing service provision despite pandemic-related restrictions. Copyright © 2022 the Alzheimer's Association.
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Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, mandated state lockdowns in the U.S. profoundly changed day-to-day life for many individuals providing informal care for a person with dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The present study explored changes in caregiver burden, depression, and anxiety associated with lockdown. Method(s): We used questionnaire data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial conducted between February 2019 - June 2021. Participants (N = 260 familial caregivers for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment living in the US) completed a baseline survey at the start of the study and follow-up surveys every three months for six-nine months. Questionnaires included the Zarit Burden Index, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. We determined the date of lockdown based on the first lockdown order issued in the participant's state of residence. For each survey score, we also determined the number of days before or after the lockdown date. Result(s): The mean age of caregivers in the sample was 63.93 years and 68% were female. A regression predicting caregiver burden from the days before/after lockdown revealed that burden decreased over time, (beta = -0.008, p =.051). Consistent with this, comparing the average of all scores obtained after lockdown with those obtained before lockdown indicated that burden decreased during lockdown, (t(172) = -2.52, p =.013). Levels of caregiver anxiety and depression were not associated with days before/after lockdown and did not change from before lockdown to after lockdown (p's >.05). Conclusion(s): Surprisingly, caregivers in our sample experienced a decrease in burden associated with COVID lockdown. We believe this may result from lockdown providing relief from caregivers' other responsibilities (e.g., being able to work from home, reduced social obligations). The lack of changes in anxiety and depression may reflect this as well, with these areas of relief offsetting some of the stresses that would normally result in worsening mood for caregivers. In future research we hope to further explore these complex relationships among lockdown, burden, depression, and anxiety. Copyright © 2022 the Alzheimer's Association.
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Aim: Effect of pandemic on medical education of surgical residents in a tertiary care hospital in Bihar Methods: A web-based survey was conducted to assess the effect of COVID-19 on the residents in various surgical specialties in our institute. The "open epi" software was used to calculate the sample size. The interview questions were generated through focus group discussions with five surgery residents from various specialties. Maslach burnout index (MBI) was used to assess burnout experienced by surgical residents. It was modified such that each of the individual components was asked as a yes or no question. Yes, was considered as 1 point and not as 0 points. The score of 22 questions was simply added. Result(s): A total of 100 surgical residents completed the survey out of 130 residents who received it (response rate 76.9%). Of the 100 respondents, 58(58%) were male, and 86 (86%) residents were less than 30 years of age. 24 percent of respondents were in the first year of their residency, 43% in their second year, and the remaining in the final year. Residents from 8 surgical specialties participated in the survey 85(85%) surgical residents felt the reduction in bed strength, and 83(83%) felt reduction in the number of patients seen by a resident in the outpatient clinic had impacted their learning. The amount of time spent on research work, however, increased by 66(66%). The 76(76%) residents efficiently utilized telemedicine for outpatient care, and 69(69%) residents felt telemedicine had improved patient care. There was a significant (paired t test;p<0.05) reduction in working hours since the pandemic began (8.45+/-2.15 hours) when compared to pre-pandemic time (13.55+/-2.03 hours). Hands-on surgical training was significantly affected. MBI was modified for the sake of simplicity. The average score before pandemic was 13.78+/-2.56, and after the pandemic, it was reduced to 7.63+/-2.35, showing a statistically significant reduction in burnout among residents (p<0.001). Conclusion(s): Surgical trainees played a significant role in taking care of many COVID-19 patients at the cost of their training. The decrease in working hours due to the pandemic has provided more time for research work and reduction in burnout. Copyright © 2021, Dr Yashwant Research Labs Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Purpose: Due to social isolation required during the COVID-19 pandemic, many practices made a sudden transition to telehealth with minimal preparation or telehealth training. Telehealth has been extensively studied in the adult population and shown to improve patient satisfaction in multiple settings with satisfactory clinical outcomes. However, the use of telehealth has been rarely studied in the adolescent and young adult population, where providers face unique challenges regarding consent and confidentiality. The Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine considers the confidential interview an essential component of health care for adolescents as it is consistent with their development of maturity and autonomy. Without it, some adolescents will forgo care leading to poor health outcomes. Though the field of Adolescent Medicine recognizes the importance of speaking with patients alone, it is difficult to establish confidentiality when conferencing with a patient over a telephone or video call. The purpose of this study is to compare patient satisfaction and visit confidentiality between telehealth and in person visits in adolescents and young adults. Methods: Patients were recruited from a subspecialty adolescent medicine clinic associated with a large children’s hospital, as well as from a system of free reproductive and primary care clinics with both school based and community sites. Data was gathered via anonymous survey, with questions modeled from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative Young Adult Health Care Survey and the University of Rochester Telemedicine and Non-Telemedicine Visit Experience Interview. Online surveys were sent via email to patients seen both in person and via telehealth at all sites. Results: Survey results were obtained from both the telehealth (n=46, 28% of respondents) and in person (n=116, 71.6% of respondents) populations. Age of respondents varied between age 13-25. Respondents were majority female (95% telehealth vs 93% in person). 91.5% of telehealth respondents reported previous experience with teleconferencing technology for school or work compared to 83.5% of in person respondents. Of telehealth responses, 70.2% participated in a video visit, while 29.8% participated in a visit via telephone. 97.8% of telehealth respondents reported that they were able to meet with their provider one on one, compared to 97.4% of in person visits (p>0.05). When asked to rank their provider on a scale of 10, ratings were not significantly different, with a higher proportion of telehealth respondents ranking their provider as a 9 or 10 out of 10. 83% telehealth respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend telemedicine to a friend, and 100% of these respondents agreed or strongly agreed that it was easy to communicate with their provider during their visit. Conclusions: Adolescent and young adult patients perceive that confidentiality in telehealth visits is not significantly inferior to that of in-office visits and they generally have a positive evaluation of their telehealth experience. Future work should be done to evaluate best practices for how confidentiality is established and maintained in telehealth visits and to evaluate parental perception of telehealth visits in those adolescent patients who are under age 18. Sources of Support: None.
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The purpose of this work is to identify neuropsychiatric functions in patients at Department No. 1 responsible for medical care of patients with a new coronavirus infection at the Samara City Hospital No. 7. Appropriate scales and questionnaires were used for this purpose. Cognitive impairments were found in 86% of the cases, emotional-affective impairments of varying severity in half of the subjects, an increase in reactive and personal anxiety was revealed, and vegetative disorders were observed in 78% of the subjects. Based on these data, it can be assumed that the new coronavirus infection affects the functioning of the nervous system of patients.
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Introduction: In the challenging times of the COVID-19, the care of individuals with the debilitating diseases such as cancers has been an additional burden to the medical team. We aim to find out about the obstacles for the clinical care of the patients in the COVID, the questions frequently asked by cancer patients, and the medical care and support teams' general experience in taking care of cancer patients during the times of the pandemic. Materials and Methods: We conducted a Qualtrics survey that was developed by Cancer and Aging Research Group among 275 health care providers to cancer patients during. There were twenty questions in the survey. Of these 20, three open-ended questions were included that inquired about the barriers to the clinical care of cancer patients during COVID-19;the questions asked to the health care team by cancer patients or the attendants;health care teams general experience in the situations of the COVID-19. Two different reviewers performed the quality analysis for the open-ended questions after they were assigned a code. SPSS ver-23 was used for the descriptive statistics. Results: Medical services organizational difficulties and addressing necessities and support were generally reported. Hindrances to the medical health teams included the included administrative difficulties, access of the patient to the support and basic resources, uncertainties for patients' psychological and physical well-being, and teleconsultation challenges. The most common concern of the patients was the safety and the need for the treatment. Medical health care teams were seen to worry for the mental and the physical health of cancer patient. There was also reported concern for the medical team's own safety, obstruction in multi-level establishments;also the health team was seen feeling positive leadership and communications. Conclusion: The medical health provider teams felt a need for thorough support at the organizational level for cancer patients. Medical teams were expected to comprehend the short-Term and long-Term impact of the COVID-19 on cancer patients. It was accepted that there has been an increased workload and mental stress among the providers. Appreciating the experiences of the medical teams during the pandemic may help in the future guidance in the care of cancer patients.
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Context: Spain was at the epicenter of the pandemic. Health centers across Spanish territory were not able to respond to non-emergency enquiries, leaving community pharmacies as the first point of patient's contact. Aims: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental and physical health of community pharmacy teams across Spain. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was performed with community pharmacy professionals throughout Spain. A questionnaire designed by our collaborator from the United Kingdom was adapted to the Spanish population and launched between October 2020 and February 2021. Results: A total of 98 participants responded to the questionnaire. The survey showed an 80% increase in workload. The pandemic had negatively impacted the well-being of community pharmacy professionals. The survey indicated a national shortage of medicines and personal protective equipment across Spain, particularly during the first peak. To adapt to this pandora's box of COVID-19, 96% of the pharmacies changed their settings to improve patients and staff's safety. Most of these changes were self-financed by the pharmacy owner. The pharmacists kept up to date with information released from the pharmacists' college, General Pharmaceutical Council and the Spanish Society of Community Pharmacists. The Public domain purchased more (79%) immune booster supplements. Conclusions: Community pharmacy professionals have faced tremendous mental, physical and professional pressure in providing adequate personal protective equipment and medication supply to their communities. They have provided more pharmaceutical services during the crisis, although they have not been recognized as essential workers by the healthcare system.
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BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has produced numerous safety concerns for sleep medicine patients and health-care workers, especially related to the use of aerosol-generating positive airway pressure devices. Differences between physician and sleep technologist concerns with regard to viral exposure and mitigation strategies may inform protocols to ensure safety and promote patient and health-care worker resilience and retention. METHODS: An anonymous online survey aimed at sleep medicine practitioners was active from April 29, 2020 to May 8, 2020. RESULTS: We obtained 379 responses, including from 75 physicians and 283 technologists. The proportion of all the respondents who were extremely/very concerned about the following: exposing patients (70.8%), exposing technologists (81.7%), and droplet (82.7%) and airborne (81.6%) transmission from CPAP. The proportion of respondents who felt that aerosol precautions were extremely/very important varied by scenario: always needed (45.6%); only with CPAP (25.9%); and needed, despite negative viral testing (67.0%). More technologists versus physicians rated the following as extremely/very important: testing parents for COVID-19 (71.2 vs 47.5%; P = .01), high-efficiency particulate air filters (75.1 vs 61.8%; P = .02), and extremely/very concerned about shared-ventilation systems (65.9 vs 51.5%; shared ventilation P = .041). The respondents in northeastern and western United States were more concerned about the availability of COVID-19 testing than were those in other regions of the United States. Among the total number of respondents, 68.0% expected a ≥ 50% drop in patients willing to have in-laboratory testing, with greatest drops anticipated in northeastern United States. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep health-care workers reported high levels of concern about exposure to COVID-19. Physicians and technologists generally showed high concordance with regard to the need for mitigation strategies, but the respondents differed widely with regard to which strategies were necessary.
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COVID-19 , Physicians , COVID-19 Testing , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Sleep , Surveys and Questionnaires , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To ascertain renal cell carcinoma (RCC) financial toxicity on COVID-19 during the COVID-19 crisis as patients are struggling with therapeutic and financial implications. METHODS: An online survey was conducted from March 22 to March 25, 2020. It included baseline demographic, clinicopathologic, treatment-related information, anxiety levels related to COVID-19, questions related to financial concerns about COVID-19 as well as the validated 11-item COST measure. RESULTS: Five-hundred-and-thirty-nine patients (39%:58% male:female) from 14 countries responded. 23% of the patients did not feel in control of their financial situation but 8% reported being very satisfied with their finances. The median COST score was 21.5 (range 1-44). Metastatic patients who have not started systemic therapy had a COST score (19.8 range 2-41) versus patients on oral systemic therapy had a COST score (23.9 range 4-44). Patients in follow-up after surgery had a median COST score at 20.8 (range 1-40). A low COST scores correlated (p < 0.001) were female gender (r = 0.108), younger age (r = 0.210), urban living situation (r = 0.68), a lower educational level (r = 0.155), lower income (r = 0.165), higher anxiety about acquiring COVID-19 (r = 0.198), having metastatic disease (r = 0.073) and a higher distress score about cancer progression (r = 0.224). CONCLUSION: Our data highlight severe financial impact of COVID-19. Acknowledging financial hardship and thorough counseling of cancer patients should be part of the conversation during the pandemic. Treatment and surveillance of RCC patients might have to be adjusted to contemplate financial and medical needs.