Impacto da COVID-19 na assistência à saúde de crianças e adolescentes com câncer durante o tratamento, em sua qualidade de vida e de seus cuidadores

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Each year, approximately 400,000 children aged 0 to 19 years are diagnosed with cancer, making it one of the leading causes of death for children and adolescents worldwide. In addition to dealing with the adverse events of the disease and treatments, low immunity predisposes to the development of serious forms of infections, such as COVID-19; that can cause physical harm, negative repercussions on health care or medical follow-up and on the quality of life of children and adolescents with cancer and their families. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact that COVID-19 had on the health care of children and adolescents with cancer during treatment, on their quality of life and that of their caregivers. METHODS: Observational, crosssectional study on the impact of COVID-19 on the health care of children and adolescents with cancer during treatment, on their quality of life and that of their caregivers, carried out from October to December 2022. Electronic communication forms (social networks, WhatsApp, emails) were used to reach parents or caregivers of children and adolescents with cancer aged between 2 and 21 years in Brazil. The survey was carried out remotely, through the application of Google Forms to assess the quality of life of the child and their caregiver, personal, sociodemographic, and medical data, in addition to a questionnaire that assesses the fear of catching COVID19. RESULTS: Participated in the study 30 caregivers, with the female sex being more prevalent (86.7%). The prevalence of female sex in children was also higher (60%), the predominant age group was from 8 to 12 years (33.3%), with a mean age of 10.3 years (SD=5.13). Fifty percent of the caregivers stated that COVID-19 affected the health care of their child. On average, the quality-of-life score was 67.25 (SD=14.96), which represents a moderate to low quality of life for the children. The quality of life of the caregivers was an average of 55.15 (SD=20.35), which also represents a moderate to low quality of life. A measurement of 21.57 (SD= 7.01) was generated on the Fear Scale of COVID-19 or which represents a moderate Fear of catching COVID-19. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 to this day has affected the lives of many people. The present study shows that half of the participants declared that COVID-19 affected the medical care of their child or adolescent. The children had a moderate to low overall quality of life, which was perceived mainly due to anxiety about procedures and anxiety about treatment. Additionally, limitation due to physical aspects, pain, decrease in mental health, limitation due to social and emotional aspects related to impairment in the caregivers' quality of life were perceived. In the evaluation of the Fear of COVID19 Scale, in general, caregivers had a moderate fear of catching COVID-19, perceiving more fear in female caregivers. Conducting further studies on quality of life in relation to other health conditions that can affect children's cancer physically and mentally will further help to develop personalized rehabilitation programs for pediatric cancer during treatment and their families.