The Experience of Oncology Healthcare Providers in the Central Italy during the COVID-19 Lockdown

Alessandra Fabi,Francesco Cognetti,Simonetta Papa,Patrizia Pugliese,Emilio Bria,Bruno Vincenzi,Gennaro Ciliberto,Maria Agnese Fabbri,Maria Perrone,Arianna Pellegrino,Alessandro Bonucci,Pina Tiziana Falbo,Valentina Mirisola,Luca Giacomelli,Francesco Angelini,Anita Caruso,Chiara Falcicchio,Domenico Corsi

doi:10.3390/cancers12103031

Abstract

Simple SummaryFew data in the literature are available about the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare providers in Italy, especially with regards to different regions. In the present work, the “VIRARE” survey was addressed to all the healthcare providers in the Lazio region and, in particular, to those working in the oncology field. Healthcare providers’ opinions on the impact and on the management of the pandemic have been analyzed, to provide an exhaustive overview about the level of their experienced psychological distress.While the emotional response of healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic has been extensively investigated in countries in the Far-East, little is known about the psychological impact and the associated emotional distress of healthcare providers in Italy, especially with regard to different regions. The aim of the “VIRARE” survey, which was addressed to all the healthcare providers in the Lazio region (central Italy) and, in particular, to those working in the oncology field, is to analyze their opinion on the impact and management of the pandemic, to better understand the level of their psychological distress. A global good psychological response of healthcare providers to the pandemic has emerged, independently from their different occupations in the oncology field. Healthcare providers show a high degree of resilience, identifying the major causes of distress the difficulty of the management of this situation, the obstacles in their working activity and expressing a high degree of dissatisfaction with how Italian institutions handled this situation. This survey also provides a direct comparison between COVID-19-infected (or directly in contact with COVID-19-infected patients) and uninfected healthcare providers, identifying the sub-category of infected professionals that reported signs of depression as particularly vulnerable.

Highlights

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern [1]
The aim of the survey was to evaluate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on healthcare providers in the Lazio region of central Italy, especially on those working in the oncology field, and to correlate emotional distress with the actual exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection, an issue poorly investigated to date
Even if not all health professional categories are represented, the sample (n = 472 of respondents out of 598 delivered surveys) could be considered representative of the healthcare provider category in central Italy (Lazio region) and in particular of those working in the oncology field, representing 82% of responders

Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a public health emergency of international concern [1]. Up to May 2020, a record 21,981 healthcare providers were infected and more than 200 of them died in Italy due to COVID-19 [6] This severe emergency caused major distress to healthcare providers, mainly due to the lack of organization to counteract this unexpected emergency (e.g., shortage of personal protective equipment). They were subjected to emotional distress caused by the fear of getting infected and the fear of infecting close relatives (patients, family and friends), and this feeling was further worsened by the perception of the absence of an immediate remedy for this problem

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion