Characteristics related to increased distress (Table 2)
Patients scheduled to receive cancer-directed therapy rated their distress higher on a five-point Likert scale than those off therapy (3.42 vs 2.59, p<0.05). Level of distress was not associated with malignancy type.
During the study period, 10.3% of families indicated a household member had symptoms or diagnosis of COVID-19. Patients and families exposed to a household member with COVID-19 symptoms/diagnoses had increased distress compared to families without exposure (3.86 vs 2.77, p=0.03).
Patients/caregivers noted disruptions to school and work during the pandemic. Thirty-six percent of college students planned to defer classes. A household member in 36% of households stopped working due to the risk of exposure. Families with someone that worked outside the home were notably less distressed than those who did not (2.53 vs 3.33, p<0.05).
Most participants reported following guidelines for mask-wearing and social distancing. The majority of participants reported using a government website as their source for COVID-19 information, but they relied more on their healthcare providers for cancer-specific information. Participants who used healthcare providers as a resource for general COVID-19 information (3.25 vs 2.56, p<0.02) as well as for cancer-specific COVID-19 information both rated their distress higher than those who did not (3.27 vs 2.07, p<0.01). Increased distress was also reported by patients/caregivers that called or sent a message to the oncology team compared to those that did not (3.60 vs 2.76, p<0.05).