Adolescents and young adults with oncohematological disease: use of social networks, impact of SARS-COV-2, and psychosocial well-being

Objective

Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with oncohematological diseases could have important psychosocial difficulties that could be worsened by the effects of the COVID19 pandemic. At this developmental stage, it is also important to assess the use of social networks (SNs). This study aims to investigate the type of social network use and the consequences of the COVID19 period. These patients are compared with matched healthy peers.

Methods

After the informant consent signature, the adolescents completed a series of self-report questionnaires on the use of SNs, on communication preferences, on social anxiety and on Covid19 impact through the online platform of LimeSurvey. Most of the adolescents belonged to the 18-20 age group (42.5%), were female (62%) and mainly off therapy (72%).

Results

Adolescents spent more than 2 h/day on Instagram and 1 h and half on Whatsapp, while Tik Tok use was on average 1 h/day, especially used by younger patients (r = -0.33, p = 0.023). Males used Twitch (t45 = -2.06, p = 0.05) and Youtube (t45 = -2.18, p = 0.03) for longer than females. AYA in therapy used more Tik Tok (U = 137.50; p = 0.03), Ask/Tellonym (U = 172.50; p = 0.05) and Twitch (U = 144; p = 0.017) than those off therapy. Healthy AYA showed lower levels of exposure (Z = -4.17; p = 0.00001) and impact (Z = -5.12; p = 0.00001) to Covid19, while the level of social anxiety is comparable and is in the normal range in both groups.

Discussion

Some clinical considerations and suggestions could be given based on these empirical results to health professionals in the care of AYA cancer patients.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychosocial Well-being and Adaptation in Children and Adolescents with Asperger's Syndrome

Mental health could worsen in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, their parents could be more at risk for an increase in anxiety and depression symptomatology. This study aims to understand the adaptation and the psychosocial well-being in a sample of 16 males aged 10-21 years old with Asperger's syndrome after the quarantine for COVID-19 when they return to school and partially to their activities in September 2020. The adopted approach is multi-informant with a battery of questionnaires on psychological health and adaptation given by a secure online web data Qualtrics both to adolescents and also to their parents. Paralleling matched peers with typical developments were assessed by adopting the same methodology. The results evidenced several difficulties in psychological health in population with Asperger's syndrome, especially in anxiety and socialization. Adaptation is put in crisis, even if they reported a good comprehension and adoption of the right behaviors anti-COVID-19. Parents of children with Asperger's syndrome reported similar psychological difficulties and general health to those of the group of children typically developing. Some clinical indications could be discussed for psychologists who follow children and adolescents with Asperger's syndrome.

Pain Coping Strategies in Pediatric Patients with Acute Leukemias in the First Month of Therapy: Effects of Treatments and Implications on Procedural Analgesia

Simple Summary

Children with leukemia have to adapt to several pain episodes related to medical procedures and to the treatment effects. This is one of the first multi-disciplinary studies involving different perspectives of pediatric hematologists, anesthetists, and psychologists. The aim of this study is to understand how specific coping strategies could be associated with the treatments’ factors and with the dosage of sedation analgesic drugs during bone marrow aspirates. Results underlined that patients’ coping with pain, such as distraction, could be influenced by treatment factors and by their age. The use of particular pain coping strategies (especially the request for social support) was associated with a lower demand for hypnotic sedative drugs during sedation for bone marrow aspirate. Contrarily, the catastrophic attitude was recognized as a negative factor that influenced a major dosage of propofol for the bone morrow sedations. Health professionals should strengthen these useful coping strategies and dampen the catastrophizing one.

Abstract

Children with leukemia experience difficulties adapting to medical procedures and to the chemotherapy’s adverse effects. Study’s objectives were to identify which coping strategies could be associated with the treatments’ factors and with the dosage of sedation analgesic drugs during bone marrow aspirates. A total of 125 patients (mean = 6.79 years; standard deviation = 3.40), majority with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (90.4%) and their parents received, one month after diagnosis, the Pediatric Pain Coping Inventory. Data on the severe treatment effects and on the dosage of drugs in sedation-analgesia were also collected. An ANCOVA model (R² = 0.25) showed that, weighing the age factor (F = 3.47; df = 3; p = 0.02), the number of episodes of fever (F = 4.78; df = 1; p = 0.03), nausea (F = 4.71; df = 1; p = 0.03) and mucositis (F = 5.81; df = 1; p = 0.02) influenced the use of distraction. Cognitive self-instructions (R² = 0.22) were influenced by the number of hospitalizations (F = 5.14; df = 1; p = 0.03) and mucositis (F = 8.48; df = 3; p = 0.004) and by child’s age (F = 3.76; df = 3; p = 0.01). Children who sought parental support more frequently (F = 9.7; df = 2; p = 0.0001) and who tended not to succumb to a catastrophic attitude (F = 13.33; df = 2; p = 0.001) during the induction treatment phase required lower drug dosages, especially propofol. The clinical application of these results could be to encourage the use of cognitive self-instructions and search for social support.