The impact of COVID-19 on a stand-alone cancer support community.

Abstract

e24203 Background: The COVID-19 pandemic altered cancer care delivery, notably through a rise in telemedicine. Patients of racial minority, low income, or older age are less likely to engage in virtual platforms. Support services are effective ways to combat negative effects of both a cancer diagnosis and a pandemic. However, research is limited regarding the impact of COVID-19 on support-based organizations. We aimed to identify variations in participant demographics and resource utilization at The Gathering Place (TGP), a cancer support community, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the platform of program delivery shifted from all in person (IP), to virtual (V), to a hybrid (H) in person/virtual setting. Methods: Deidentified, retrospective data was gathered from three distinct six month time periods: 01/01-06/30/2019 (IP), 01/01-06/30/2021 (V) and 01/01-06/30/2022 (H). Participant data including participant type (diagnosed with cancer or affected by cancer), age, sex, race, residential zip code (translated to projected household income), cancer type and programs utilized were collected and analyzed. Baseline demographics were compared among IP, V and H platforms using the Wilcoxon test (for age) and chi-square tests for other variables. Statistical significance was set at two-sided P values < 0.05. Results: Among participants with cancer, there was a greater percentage of females and racially white vs. black individuals. Sex, race and projected income did not change significantly over time. However, age significantly decreased from IP to V/H settings. The percentage of participants engaging in support, exercise, art and mind/body programs significantly decreased from IP to V/H settings, whereas educational engagement increased. Similar results were recognized among participants affected by cancer. Conclusions: The change in median age at TGP as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent shift in program delivery, mirrors the disparity in telemedicine utilization among the older population. While race and projected median household income did not change over time, the 2019 data suggests that participation is already highly skewed towards white and higher income participants compared to the local demographic distribution. Moving from IP to V/H delivery, program utilization with more interpersonal camaraderie and social bonding decreased, while programs involving less of these qualities remained the same or increased over time. This data highlights important gaps in utilization and underscores the gravity of in person interaction that has been altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. [Table: see text]