Healthcare Professional and Patient Perceptions of Changes in Colorectal Cancer Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Impact on Health Inequalities

被引：0

作者：

Ip, Athena ^{[1
,9
]}

Black, Georgia ^{[2
]}

Vindrola-Padros, Cecilia ^{[3
]}

Taylor, Claire ^{[4
]}

Otter, Sophie ^{[5
]}

Hewish, Madeleine ^{[5
]}

Bhuiya, Afsana ^{[6
]}

Callin, Julie

Wong, Angela ^{[7
]}

Machesney, Michael ^{[7
]}

Green, James ^{[7
]}

Oliphant, Raymond ^{[8
]}

Fulop, Naomi J. ^{[2
]}

Taylor, Cath ^{[1
]}

Whitaker, Katriina L. ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Surrey, Sch Hlth Sci, Guildford, England

[2] UCL, Dept Appl Hlth Res, London, England

[3] UCL, Dept Targeted Intervent, London, England

[4] London North West Univ, Healthcare Natl Hlth Serv NHS Trust, Harrow, England

[5] Royal Surrey NHS Fdn Trust, Guildford, England

[6] UCL, Hosp NHS Fdn Trust, London, England

[7] Barts Hlth NHS Trust, London, England

[8] NHS Highland, Inverness, Scotland

[9] Univ Surrey, Sch Hlth Sci, Kate Granger Bldg 30 Priestley Rd, Guildford GU2 7XH, England

来源：

CANCER CONTROL | 2022年 / 29卷

关键词：

colorectal cancer; qualitative research; inequalities; Covid-19; healthcare professional; pathway;

D O I：

暂无

中图分类号：

R73 [肿瘤学];

学科分类号：

100214 ;

摘要：

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic changed the way in which people were diagnosed and treated for cancer. We explored healthcare professional and patient perceptions of the main changes to colorectal cancer delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they impacted on socioeconomic inequalities in care.MethodsIn 2020, using a qualitative approach, we interviewed patients (n = 15) who accessed primary care with colorectal cancer symptoms and were referred for further investigations. In 2021, we interviewed a wide range of healthcare professionals (n = 30) across the cancer care pathway and gathered national and local documents/guidelines regarding changes in colorectal cancer care.ResultsChanges with the potential to exacerbate inequalities in care, included: the move to remote consultations; changes in symptomatic triage, new COVID testing procedures/ways to access healthcare, changes in visitor policies and treatment (e.g., shorter course radiotherapy). Changes that improved patient access/convenience or the diagnostic process have the potential to reduce inequalities in care.DiscussionChanges in healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic have the ongoing potential to exacerbate existing health inequalities due to changes in how patients are triaged, changes to diagnostic and disease management processes, reduced social support available to patients and potential over-reliance on digital first approaches. We provide several recommendations to help mitigate these harms, whilst harnessing the gains.

引用

页数：12