Table 2.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived access to health care in patients (being) treated for breast cancer (n = 696) compared to a reference population (n = 241) during the first and the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic
| First wave | Second wave | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Responders (n = 696)a | Responders (n = 696)a | Reference population (n = 241) | ||||
| n | % | n | % | n | % | |
| Did the threshold to contact your general practitioner change, because of the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Yes, I contact my general practitioner more easily | 13 | 1.9 | 6 | 0.9 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Yes, I contact my general practitioner less easily | 204 | 29.9 | 145 | 20.8 | 39 | 16.2 |
| No, but during the first COVID-19 wave I contacted my general practitioner less easily | – | – | 77 | 11.1 | 37 | 15.4 |
| No | 479 | 68.8 | 468 | 67.2 | 161 | 66.8 |
| Did the threshold to contact the physicians treating your breast cancer change, because of the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Yes, I contact my breast cancer physician(s) more easily | 6 | 0.9 | 8 | 1.1 | – | – |
| Yes, I contact my breast cancer physician(s) less easily | 100 | 14.4 | 52 | 7.5 | – | – |
| No, but during the first COVID-19 wave I contacted my physicians less easily | – | – | 40 | 5.7 | – | – |
| No | 590 | 84.8 | 596 | 85.6 | – | – |
| Did the threshold to discuss your breast cancer diagnosis or breast cancer (treatment)-related symptoms with family and friends change, because of the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Yes, I contact my friends and family more easily | 9 | 1.3 | 9 | 1.3 | – | – |
| Yes, I contact my friends and family less easily | 52 | 7.5 | 50 | 7.2 | – | – |
| No, but during the first COVID-19 wave I contacted my family and friends less easily | – | – | 13 | 1.9 | – | – |
| No | 635 | 91.2 | 624 | 89.7 | – | – |
| Do the current COVID-19 measures affect your current breast cancer treatment or (after)care? | ||||||
| Yes | 198 | 28.4 | 103 | 14.8 | – | – |
| No | 498 | 71.6 | 546 | 78.4 | – | – |
| I don't know | – | – | 47 | 6.8 | – | – |
| Do you expect that the current COVID-19 measures will affect your breast cancer treatment or (after)care in the future? | ||||||
| Yes | 167 | 24.0 | 56 | 8.0 | – | – |
| No | 529 | 76.0 | 401 | 57.6 | – | – |
| I don't know | – | – | 239 | 34.3 | – | – |
aAll breast cancer patients (n = 696) completed both COVID-19-specific surveys during the first and second COVID-19 wave, i.e., in April 2020 and November 2020, respectively