Impact on mental health of the COVID-19 pandemic in a radiation oncology department

PURPOSE To evaluate stress levels among the health care workers (HCWs) of the radiation oncology community in Asian countries. METHODS HCWs of the radiation oncology departments from 29 tertiary cancer care centers of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nepal were studied from May 2020 to July 2020. A total of 758 eligible HCWs were identified. The 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire, and 22-Item Impact of Events Scale-Revised were used for assessing anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Univariate and multivariate analysis was done to identify the causative factors affecting mental health. RESULTS A total of 758 participants from 794 HCWs were analyzed. The median age was 31 years (IQR, 27-28). The incidence of moderate to severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress was 34.8%, 31.2%, and 18.2%, respectively. Severe personal concerns were noticed by 60.9% of the staff. On multivariate analysis, the presence of commonly reported symptoms of COVID-19 during the previous 2 weeks, contact history (harzard ratio [HR], 2.04; CI, 1.15 to 3.63), and compliance with precautionary measures (HR, 1.69; CI, 1.19 to 2.45) for COVID-19 significantly predicted for increasing anxiety (HR, 2.67; CI, 1.93 to 3.70), depression (HR, 3.38; CI 2.36 to 4.84), and stress (HR, 2.89; CI, 1.88 to 4.43) ( P < .001). A significant regional variation was also noticed for anxiety, stress, and personal concerns. CONCLUSION This survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that a significant proportion of HCWs in the radiation oncology community experiences moderate to severe levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. This trend is alarming and it is important to identify and intervene at the right time to improve the mental health of HCWs to avoid any long-term impacts.

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Cancer-related distress screening in a radiation oncology clinic: A snapshot view of a Veterans Administration (VA) institution screening program.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.e21562 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. e21562-e21562

Author(s):

Timothy A. Lomauro ◽

George Anthony Dawson ◽

Lori Magda ◽

Kristen Tobias ◽

Maria D. Kelly

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Radiation Oncology ◽

Treatment Guidelines ◽

Screening Program ◽

Standards Of Care ◽

Health Clinic ◽

Distress Screening ◽

Screening Process ◽

Treatment Population

e21562 Background: The emotional and psychosocial stress experienced by cancer patients are significant factors impacting cancer treatment outcomes and quality of life. Increased emphasis upon programmatic approaches to identifying distress has evolved to current evidenced-based treatment guidelines as reflected by American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) have identified distress screening standards of care. This report is a snapshot of the results of a distress screening program in a VAMC Radiation Oncology clinic. Methods: Calendar year 2016 data was chosen for this quality improvement review. We wanted to assess the effectiveness of psychosocial distress screening process now routinely done in Radiation Oncology. Distress screening was completed utilizing the NCCN Distress Thermometer. The program’s goal was to administer distress screening to all patients at the time of their initial consultation and to follow up screening as appropriate. Results: The mean age of the patients was 68.6 years; 98% were male. The treatment population was 58% Caucasian, 38% African-American, 2% Hispanic, and 2% other. The most prevalent cancer diagnoses were: Prostate, 52%; Lung, 13.9%; Head & Neck Cancer, 7.2%, Skin, 4.6%; Esophageal or Gastric Cancer, 3.1%; Brain, 2.0%; and Breast, 2.0% Screenings were completed on 161 of 193 (83%) new consults in Radiation Oncology; 47.6% of patients screened scored at or above the established cut score of 4. Referrals to Oncology Psychology were initiated for 29.5% of total sample. Significant mental health co-morbidities were identified in the treatment population studied; 58.5% of patients had at least one mental disorder diagnosis. Examples: PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder, Substance Use Disorder, and Adjustment Disorder. Conclusions: Results reflect the usefulness of the distress screening process in identifying adjustment issues specific to cancer patients' experience, as well as exacerbations of existing mental health conditions. The screening process facilitated referral to specialty (Oncology Psychology) and general (Mental Health Clinic) services.

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The Efficacy of Cognitive-behavioural and Mental Health of Cancer Patients: an Impact of Workshop on the Residents Radiation- Oncology in a Small Group

AMBIENT SCIENCE ◽

10.21276/ambi.2017.04.sp1.ta01 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 04 (Sp1, & 02) ◽

Author(s):

Maryam Javaherian ◽

Parastoo Hajian ◽

Hamidreza Mirzaei

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Small Group ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Radiation Oncology ◽

Cognitive Behavioural

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Evaluating Mental Health Services; How Do Programs for Children “Work” in the Real World? Edited by Carol T. Nixon & Denine A. Northrup. Sage, Thousand Oaks CA, 1997. pp. 306. £16.60 (pb).

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry ◽

10.1017/s0021963098222918 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 39 (6) ◽

pp. 935-936

Author(s):

Anne Worrall-Davies

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Real World ◽

The Real

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Therapy and prevention for mental health: What if mental diseases are mostly not brain disorders?

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x1800105x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

John P. A. Ioannidis

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Disease ◽

Brain Disorders ◽

Social Stressors ◽

Labor Education ◽

Mental Diseases ◽

Long Term Follow Up ◽

Political Decisions

AbstractNeurobiology-based interventions for mental diseases and searches for useful biomarkers of treatment response have largely failed. Clinical trials should assess interventions related to environmental and social stressors, with long-term follow-up; social rather than biological endpoints; personalized outcomes; and suitable cluster, adaptive, and n-of-1 designs. Labor, education, financial, and other social/political decisions should be evaluated for their impacts on mental disease.

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A Tribute to the Late William J. Curran

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1017/s1073110500004058 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 274-275

Author(s):

O. Lawrence ◽

J.D. Gostin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Mental Illness ◽

United Nations ◽

Mental Health Care ◽

Harvard University ◽

Legal Medicine ◽

General Assembly ◽

International Institute ◽

University Professor

In the summer of 1979, a group of experts on law, medicine, and ethics assembled in Siracusa, Sicily, under the auspices of the International Commission of Jurists and the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Science, to draft guidelines on the rights of persons with mental illness. Sitting across the table from me was a quiet, proud man of distinctive intelligence, William J. Curran, Frances Glessner Lee Professor of Legal Medicine at Harvard University. Professor Curran was one of the principal drafters of those guidelines. Many years later in 1991, after several subsequent re-drafts by United Nations (U.N.) Rapporteur Erica-Irene Daes, the text was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly as the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the Improvement of Mental Health Care. This was the kind of remarkable achievement in the field of law and medicine that Professor Curran repeated throughout his distinguished career.

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Prevalence of Self-Reported Depression Symptoms and Perceived Anxiety Among Community-Dwelling U.S. Adults Reporting Tinnitus

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2020_persp-19-00178 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 959-970

Author(s):

Kelly M. Reavis ◽

James A. Henry ◽

Lynn M. Marshall ◽

Kathleen F. Carlson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Self Report ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Community Based Interventions ◽

Data Set ◽

Health Distress ◽

Validated Questionnaire ◽

Mental Health Distress

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between tinnitus and self-reported mental health distress, namely, depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, in adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey between 2009 and 2012. A secondary aim was to determine if a history of serving in the military modified the associations between tinnitus and mental health distress. Method This was a cross-sectional study design of a national data set that included 5,550 U.S. community-dwelling adults ages 20 years and older, 12.7% of whom were military Veterans. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between tinnitus and mental health distress. All measures were based on self-report. Tinnitus and perceived anxiety were each assessed using a single question. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire. Multivariable regression models were adjusted for key demographic and health factors, including self-reported hearing ability. Results Prevalence of tinnitus was 15%. Compared to adults without tinnitus, adults with tinnitus had a 1.8-fold increase in depression symptoms and a 1.5-fold increase in perceived anxiety after adjusting for potential confounders. Military Veteran status did not modify these observed associations. Conclusions Findings revealed an association between tinnitus and both depression symptoms and perceived anxiety, independent of potential confounders, among both Veterans and non-Veterans. These results suggest, on a population level, that individuals with tinnitus have a greater burden of perceived mental health distress and may benefit from interdisciplinary health care, self-help, and community-based interventions. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12568475

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