Risk perceptions and health care use in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic in adults treated for childhood cancer

[Patients' perceptions of teleconsultation in long-term follow-up after pediatric cancer]

For the past decade, "long-term follow-up consultations" have been established for adults cured of pediatric cancer to ensure the prevention, early detection, and treatment of long-term effects. These consultations are now sometimes conducted in the form of teleconsultations, a practice that has seen significant growth following the COVID-19 crisis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction, usefulness, and patient experience of teleconsultations conducted by an oncologist or hematologist as part of the long-term follow-up of adults cured of pediatric cancer. This is a descriptive multicenter study of a sample of adult patients cured of pediatric cancer who benefited from a long-term follow-up teleconsultation. After each teleconsultation, a satisfaction questionnaire was sent to the patient. Descriptive analyses were conducted for all variables, and bivariate analyses were performed between the variables of interest (satisfaction, trust, usefulness) and five covariates (gender, type of diagnosis, health status perception, education level, prior teleconsultation experience) using Fisher's exact test. Regarding the overall appreciation of their long-term follow-up teleconsultation experience, 73% of patients were very satisfied and 25% fairly satisfied. Notably, all of them were satisfied with the consultation time (88%), feeling that they were able to discuss the topics they wanted (83%). Consequently, 71% of patients expressed a desire to use teleconsultation in the future.

The Psychological Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Adults Treated for Childhood Cancer

Background: Compared with the general population, childhood cancer survivors (CCS) could be at greater risk of psychological distress following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: This cross-sectional study assessed the psychological consequences of COVID-19 on the mental health of CCS. Design and participants: In December 2020, we interviewed through an online self-report questionnaire, 580 5-year CCS participating in the French Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (FCCSS) cohort. Methods: We first compared the mental health score of CCS with that observed in the French general population of the same age and gender. Subsequently, we studied predictors of the mental health score of CCS. Results: External comparisons revealed that the mental health score of CCS was similar to that of the general population. Among CCS, almost 42% stated that their psychological state had been worse during the lockdown. Predictors of poorer mental health included, among others, female gender, reporting a change in the occupational situation, having a relative who had been hospitalized or had died following COVID-19, and a greater perceived infection risk. Interpretation and Implications: Given the pre-existing vulnerability of some CCS to mental distress, the additional psychological consequences of COVID-19 in vulnerable survivors should receive attention from health care providers.