Visitation policies at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers during the COVID-19 pandemic
| Autor: | Benjamin W. Thompson, Jonathan C. Yeh, Christian T. Sinclair, Ishwaria Mohan Subbiah, Areeba Jawed, Zachary Hildner, Natasha Dhawan, Eric Prommer |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Cancer Care Facilities 03 medical and health sciences Social support 0302 clinical medicine Neoplasms Pandemic Medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Location business.industry Nursing research Visitor pattern COVID-19 Social Support Visitors to Patients Organizational Policy United States Oncology Median time 030220 oncology & carcinogenesis Commentary business Visitation Supportive care Demography |
| Zdroj: | Supportive Care in Cancer |
| ISSN: | 1433-7339 0941-4355 |
| Popis: | Purpose Family/caregiver visitation provides critical support for patients confronting cancer and is associated with positive outcomes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought historic disruptions including widespread visitation restrictions. Here, we characterize in-depth the visitor policies of NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers (CCCs) and analyze geographic/temporal patterns across CCCs. Methods The public-facing CCC websites, including archived webpages, were reviewed to abstract initial visitation policies and revisions, including end-of-life (EoL) exceptions and timing of visitation restrictions relative to regional lockdowns. Chi-squared and Fisher’s exact tests were employed to analyze associations between geographic region, timing, and severity of restrictions. Results Most CCCs (n=43, 86%) enacted visitation restrictions between March 15 and April 15, 2020. About half barred all visitors for COVID-negative inpatients (n=24, 48%) or outpatients (n=26, 52%). Most (n=36, 72%) prohibited visitors for patients with confirmed/suspected COVID-19. Most (n=40, 80%) published EoL exceptions but the specifics were highly variable. The median time from initial restrictions to government-mandated lockdowns was 1 day, with a wide range (25 days before to 26 days after). There was no association between timing of initial restrictions and geographic location (p=0.14) or severity of inpatient policies (p=1.0), even among centers in the same city. Outpatient policies published reactively (after lockdown) were more restrictive than those published proactively (p=0.04). Conclusion CCCs enacted strict but strikingly variable COVID-19 visitation restrictions, with important implications for patients/families seeking cancer care. A unified, evidence-based approach to visitation policies is needed to balance proven infection control measures with the needs of patients and families. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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