The Effects of COVID-19 on Cancer Care Provision: A Systematic Review

This systematic review aims to gather primary data from cancer institutions that have implemented changes to cancer service provision amid the COVID-19 outbreak to inform future intervention and health care facility response strategies. A comprehensive literature search was done on Global Health Med...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Samiha Alom BSc, MPH, Chun Ming Chiu, Ashwarya Jha BSc, Sheung Heng Daniel Lai BSc, Thomas Ho Lai Yau, Amer Harky MRCS, MSc
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2021-02-01
Series:Cancer Control
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/1073274821997425
Description
Summary:This systematic review aims to gather primary data from cancer institutions that have implemented changes to cancer service provision amid the COVID-19 outbreak to inform future intervention and health care facility response strategies. A comprehensive literature search was done on Global Health Medline and EMBASE using pertinent key words and MeSH terms relating to COVID-19 and Cancer service provision. A total of 72 articles were selected for inclusion in this systematic review. Following the narrative synthesis that was conducted of the literature, 6 core themes that encompassed common cancer service intervention adopted by institutions were identified: (1) Testing and Tracking, (2) Outreach and Communication, (3) Protection, (4) Social Distancing (5) Treatment Management, (6) Service Restructuring. Since cancer patients are a high-risk population amid the COVID-19 pandemic, these areas of targeted intervention can be used to inform necessary actions in institutions facing similar risks, based on previous learning from numerous cancer centers globally.
ISSN:1073-2748