ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Patients after breast cancer surgery have a high sense of stigma due to the formation of surgical scars, loss of breast shape or other reasons, leading to anxiety, depression, and other adverse mental health problems, thus reducing their quality of life. Remote peer support intervention based on telephone, internet or email is low-cost and easy to spread, and protects patients' privacy, solves the barriers to access that many patients face when attending face-to-face programs. Therefore, remote peer support may be an effective way to reduce stigma and improve mental health in patients after breast cancer surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: Eight databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, PsycNET, MEDLINE, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection and Web of Science) will be used to select eligible studies that were published from inception to May, 2021. The eligible studies will be screened, extracted and then the methodological quality will be evaluated independently by 2 reviewers. Review manager software version 5.3 software and Stata version 14.0 software will be used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: The results of this study will show the effect of remote peer support on stigma, depression and anxiety in patients after breast cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. CONCLUSION: The results of this study will provide evidence for the effectiveness of remote peer support in patients after breast cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021255971.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/psychology , Mastectomy/psychology , Postoperative Complications/therapy , Social Stigma , Social Support , Anxiety/etiology , Anxiety/therapy , Breast Neoplasms/surgery , COVID-19 , Depression/etiology , Depression/therapy , Female , Humans , Meta-Analysis as Topic , Peer Group , Postoperative Complications/etiology , Postoperative Complications/psychology , Research Design , SARS-CoV-2 , Systematic Reviews as Topic , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIM: Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak is currently having a huge impact on medical resource allocation. Breast Cancer (BC) patients are concerned both with BC treatment and COVID-19. This study aimed to estimate the impact of anxiety among patients, caused by the spreading of COVID-19. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between the 16th of January and the 20th of March 2020, we retrospectively enrolled 160 patients. Eighty-two patients with a suspected breast lesion (SBL) were divided into two groups: PRE-COVID-19-SBL and POST-COVID-19-SBL. Seventy-eight BC patients were divided into PRE-COVID-19-BC and POST-COVID-19-BC. Patient characteristics including age, marital status, SBL/BC diameter, personal and family history of BC, clinical stage and molecular subtype were recorded. Procedure Refusal (PR) and Surgical Refusal (SR) were also recorded with their reason. RESULTS: BC and SBL analysis showed no difference in pre-treatment characteristics (p>0.05). Both POST-COVID-19-SBL and POST-COVID-19-BC groups showed higher rates of PR and SR (p=0.0208, p=0.0065 respectively). Infection risk represented primary reason for refusal among POST-COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSION: COVID-19-related anxiety could affect patients' decision-making process.
Subject(s)
Anxiety/psychology , Biopsy, Large-Core Needle/psychology , Breast Neoplasms/psychology , Coronavirus Infections/psychology , Decision Making , Elective Surgical Procedures/psychology , Fear/psychology , Mastectomy/psychology , Pneumonia, Viral/psychology , Treatment Refusal/psychology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Anxiety/etiology , Attitude to Health , Biopsy, Large-Core Needle/methods , Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Breast Neoplasms/surgery , COVID-19 , Female , Humans , Italy , Mammography , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Retrospective Studies , Socioeconomic Factors , Ultrasonography, Mammary , VacuumABSTRACT
COVID-19 has been officially declared as a pandemic by the WHO. Italy was the first European country to be strongly affected by this outbreak. All elective and health promotion activities were reduced. Accordingly, Italian Breast Units and breast cancer (BC) screening programs scaled down significantly their activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate measures that could potentially reduce the clinical impact of COVID-19 on BC patients. Temporary recommendations are needed that could assist specialists in preventing COVID-19 infection and optimizing resources for diagnosis and treatment of BC patients.