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Loneliness and symptom burden in oncology patients during the COVID‐19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Miaskowski Christine,
Paul Steven M.,
Snowberg Karin,
Abbott Maura,
Borno Hala T.,
Chang Susan M.,
Chen Lee May,
Cohen Bevin,
Cooper Bruce A.,
Hammer Marilyn J.,
Kenfield Stacey A.,
Kober Kord M.,
Laffan Angela,
Levine Jon D.,
Pozzar Rachel,
Rhoads Kim,
Tsai Katy K.,
Van Blarigan Erin L.,
Van Loon Katherine
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.33603
Subject(s) - loneliness , medicine , social isolation , anxiety , depression (economics) , psychological intervention , isolation (microbiology) , quality of life (healthcare) , logistic regression , clinical psychology , social support , psychiatry , social distance , disease , covid-19 , psychology , nursing , biology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , economics , psychotherapist , macroeconomics
Background Loneliness and social isolation are significant public health problems that are being exacerbated during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Little is known about the associations between loneliness and symptom burden in oncology patients before and during the pandemic. Study purposes include determining the prevalence of loneliness in a sample of oncology patients; evaluating for differences in demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics between lonely and nonlonely patients; and determining which demographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics were associated with membership in the lonely group. Methods A convenience sample (n = 606) completed online surveys that evaluated the severity of loneliness, social isolation, and common symptoms (ie, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive dysfunction, and pain) in oncology patients. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used to evaluate for differences in scores between the lonely and nonlonely groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for membership in the loneliness group. Results Of the 606 patients, 53.0% were categorized in the lonely group. The lonely group reported higher levels of social isolation, as well as higher symptom severity scores for all of the symptoms evaluated. In the multivariate model, being unmarried, having higher levels of social isolation, as well as higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms were associated with membership in the lonely group. Conclusions Study findings suggest that a significant number of oncology patients are experiencing loneliness, most likely as a result of mandate social distancing and isolation procedures. The symptom burden of these patients is extremely high and warrants clinical evaluation and interventions.