Impact of Emergency Situations on the Level of Fear and Anxiety in Oncology Patients During Radiotherapy in a Developing Country

TL;DR

The study found that oncology patients undergoing radiotherapy experienced higher fear and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before.

Contribution

The study compares fear and anxiety levels in radiotherapy patients before and during the pandemic, highlighting the impact of emergency health situations.

Findings

Patients treated in 2022 showed significantly higher levels of fear and anxiety compared to those in 2016.

The use of external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy was associated with increased fear and anxiety in both study periods.

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the level of fear and anxiety related to radiotherapy in oncology patients treated before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to examine whether the advancement of radiotherapy centers leads to any reduction in the patient's fear in emergency situations.

Methods: Two cross-sectional studies were conducted in two time frames (2016 and 2022) based on the analysis of the intensity of anxiety and fear of radiotherapy in oncology patients with assistance. A questionnaire for assessing fear of radiotherapy in oncology patients and Zung's and Beck's self-reported anxiety scales were used. The first part of the research integrated all data of research interest obtained from patients treated with radiotherapy during 2016, and the second cross-sectional study included all patients treated in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was prepared according to the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) checklist.

Results: The first cross-sectional study had 154 participants who had been treated with radiotherapy, while in the second study, there were 159 patients. Patients treated in 2022 show significantly higher levels of fear and anxiety. External beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy simultaneously used in both studies increased the level of fear and anxiety.

Conclusion: The conducted research showed exceptional differences in the intensity of fear and anxiety in patients treated with radiotherapy in different health situations, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a significant impact on the stability of the health system and the challenges to providing standard services.

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