Effect of the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis on the Mental Health and Physical Well-Being of Cancer Patients, the Coping With COVID Study

Coping With COVID: The Effect of the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis on Mental Well-Being in Cancer Patients Seen at the Psychiatric Oncology Clinic

This study determines how the threat of the coronavirus has affected the mental health and physical well-being of cancer patients seen at the psychiatric oncology clinic, and how they have coped with any related stress. Questionnaires that assess coping strategies and behaviors for decreasing disease transmission may help researchers create recommendations for future public health crises and pandemics.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm; Malignant Solid Neoplasm; COVID-19 Infection
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Questionnaire Administration

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health crisis affected mental well-being in cancer patients seen at the psychiatric oncology clinic.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine how the COVID-19 public health crisis affected physical well-being and substance use in cancer patients seen at the psychiatric oncology clinic.

II. To determine how patient coping strategies and levels of apathy affected mental and physical health symptoms and substance use during COVID-19 in patients seen at the psychiatric oncology clinic.

III. To determine the association of coping strategies and levels of apathy with proclivity to engage in health behaviors intended to decrease the transmission of the disease during the COVID-19 pandemic in patients seen at the psychiatric oncology clinic.

OUTLINE:

Patients complete 3 questionnaires online over 15 minutes regarding coping strategies that may have been used, mental health and physical well-being in the past month, and if they have been following certain behaviors which the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended during the coronavirus pandemic, such as regular hand washing and social distancing.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 80

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • M D Anderson Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Cancer patients who received care at the psychiatric oncology clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Outpatients seen by providers of the psychiatric oncology clinic at least once between November 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020 and at least once between April 10, 2020 and June 10, 2020
• Speaking English as indicated in their medical chart

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are pregnant as recorded in their medical chart
• Incarcerated
• With a recorded diagnosis of a formal thought disorder
• Unable to consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Observational (questionnaires); Patients complete 3 questionnaires online over 15 minutes regarding coping strategies that may have been used, mental health and physical well-being in the past month, and if they have been following certain behaviors which the WHO has recommended during the coronavirus pandemic, such as regular hand washing and social distancing.	Other: Questionnaire Administration; Complete questionnaires

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient-reported severity of depression	sum score on the Patient Health Questionnaire, a 9-item scale with a sumscore ranging between 0 and 27, with a higher score indicating more-severe depression.	Baseline
Patient-reported severity of anxiety	sum score on the generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire, a 7-item scale with sumscore range between 0 and 21. A higher score indicates higher severity of anxiety.	Baseline
Patient-reported severity of distress	score on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Thermometer, a one-item 0-10 scale. A higher score indicates higher distress.	Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient-reported physical symptoms	Physical symptoms are assessed with individual-item response on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale by the clinic. The ESAS includes 6 somatic symptom items, each of which is to be rated on a 0-10 scale, with higher scores indicating higher severity of the symptom.	Baseline
Substance use	Substance use is documented by the treating physician and will be abstracted from clinic notes.	Baseline
Patient-reported coping strategy	Assessed using the brief COPE questionnaire. Will examine active versus avoidant coping. Active coping, planning, positive reframing, acceptance, humor, religion, emotional support-seeking, and instrumental support-seeking will be considered active coping strategies. Self-distraction, denial, venting, substance use, behavioral disengagement, and self-blame will be considered maladaptive coping strategies.	Baseline
Patient-reported levels of apathy	The Apathy evaluation Scale is an 18-item scale with a sum score ranging between 18 and 72. A higher scores indicates higher apathy..	Baseline
Patient-reported engagement in the 5 health behaviors endorsed by World Health Organization intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus	Patients indicate how often during the pandemic they engaged in the following 5 behaviors endorsed by the World Health Organization to decrease the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): washing hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub, covering nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze, avoiding close contact with people who are unwell, staying home and self-isolating from others in the household when feeling unwell, avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth when hands are unclean. The behaviors will be assessed on a Likert scale of 1-5, with 1 being "never" and 5 being "always". A not available (N/A) option will be given for staying home and self-isolating from others when feeling unwell, since participants may not experience a period of feeling unwell.	Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tamara E Lacourt, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• MD Anderson Cancer Center Website

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 13, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 12, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): January 12, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 11, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 2, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): December 3, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 14, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 13, 2022
• Last Verified: January 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; Neoplasms; COVID-19
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020-0451 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center); NCI-2020-06556 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No