Background
Protective measures adopted to contain COVID-19 should not impair cancer pts' psychological wellbeing and clinical status. We assessed anxiety/depression levels and perceptions/beliefs towards COVID-19 vaccination in adult cancer pts who accepted vaccination at the University and Hospital Trust of Verona and Camposampiero Hospital in the Veneto region.
Methods
A self-reported questionnaire was administered to pts undergoing COVID-19 vaccination. 27 items were investigated: i) demographics/clinical characteristics; ii) psychological status (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - HADS - and Distress Thermometer - DT); iii) awareness about infection risks, interference with anticancer treatments, and vaccine side effects, using a 4-points Likert scale.
Results
Only 1.7% of invited pts refused COVID-19 vaccination. Breast (23%) and gastrointestinal (26%) were the most represented cancer sites. Data collected in Verona (1112 respondents) demonstrated mild levels of anxiety, depression, and distress in 75%, 78%, and 64% of pts, respectively. Seventy two percent of pts strongly believed that vaccine can reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection/complications, 62% reported feeling less worried about contracting COVID-19, 63% were not worried that vaccine side effects could interfere with anticancer treatments, and 56% believed that COVID-19 vaccine would not compromise their health. Data collected at the Camposampiero Hospital (286 respondents) confirmed the mild levels of anxiety (80%), depression (72%) and distress (69%) at both vaccine administrations and the increased confidence that vaccine side effects would not interfere with anticancer treatments (58% vs 40%) and that the COVID-19 vaccine would not compromise health (65% vs 42%).
Conclusions
During the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, adult cancer pts demonstrated a favorable psychological status and encouraging levels of vaccine confidence, supporting the role of physician-patient communication in driving the adoption of preventive measures and healthcare recommendations.
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
The ORCHESTRA project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant number 101016167).
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.