Omar Abeid M A, Ramadan Marwa M, Khamis Yomna, Ismail Abdelsalam A
Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine (ACOD), Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Champillion Street - Khartoum Square, 21131 Alexandria, Egypt.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4081-8547.
Ecancermedicalscience. 2021 Jul 28;15:1273. doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2021.1273. eCollection 2021.
Healthcare workers, including oncologists, face a higher potential risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) while managing patients. Moreover, the uncertainty that came with COVID-19 and its associated social stigma may worsen what was already a crisis (burnout) among oncologists. Data are scarce on the impact of COVID-19 on the occupational health and safety of oncologists in low and middle-income countries.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey in February 2021 to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on practicing oncologists in Alexandria governorate, Egypt. An anonymised self-reporting questionnaire was electronically distributed to 88 participants to collect information on occupational safety at work, the prevalence of COVID-19 among respondents and the impact of COVID-19 on their wellbeing, including perceived burnout and family support.
Out of the 88 contacted oncologists, 75% completed the survey. The mean age of participants was 34.79 years (SD ± 10.42), of which 45% were residents, 36% were specialists and 18% were consultants. Most of the oncologists (58% of 66) felt they were not adequately protected against COVID-19. The majority (78% of 66) have managed COVID-19 infected cancer patients, and 76% (out of 66) had experienced COVID-19 like symptoms. A third ( = 21) of the respondents were confirmed COVID-19 infected: 62% of the latter thought they were infected at the workplace, either by a patient or a colleague. The majority of the oncologists (78%) perceived being more overwhelmed or burned out than in the pre-COVID-19 era. Nearly half of the participants (48%) reported their family members and friends had reduced contact with them despite being COVID-19 negative, in fear of being infected. The burnout was significantly higher in those lacking family support than those who had, 52% versus 28% respectively ( = 0.038).
One-third of practicing oncologists were diagnosed with COVID-19, and most thought they were infected at the hospital. Occupational safety measures, including mental health programs, need to be improved with special emphasis on the role of family support in mitigating perceived burnout among practicing oncologists.
包括肿瘤学家在内的医护人员在治疗患者时感染2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的潜在风险更高。此外，COVID-19带来的不确定性及其相关的社会污名化可能会加剧肿瘤学家本已面临的危机（职业倦怠）。关于COVID-19对低收入和中等收入国家肿瘤学家职业健康与安全影响的数据很少。
我们于2021年2月进行了一项横断面调查，以评估COVID-19对埃及亚历山大省执业肿瘤学家的影响。一份匿名的自我报告问卷通过电子方式分发给88名参与者，以收集有关工作中的职业安全、受访者中COVID-19的患病率以及COVID-19对其幸福感的影响的信息，包括感知到的职业倦怠和家庭支持情况。
在88名被联系的肿瘤学家中，75%完成了调查。参与者的平均年龄为34.79岁（标准差±10.42），其中45%是住院医师，36%是专科医生，18%是顾问医生。大多数肿瘤学家（66人中的58%）觉得他们没有得到足够的COVID-19防护。大多数人（66人中的78%）治疗过感染COVID-19的癌症患者，66人中的76%曾出现过类似COVID-19的症状。三分之一（n = 21）的受访者被确诊感染了COVID-19：其中62%的人认为他们是在工作场所被感染的，感染源是患者或同事。大多数肿瘤学家（78%）感觉比COVID-19疫情前更加不堪重负或出现职业倦怠。近一半的参与者（48%）报告说，尽管他们COVID-19检测呈阴性，但家人和朋友因担心被感染而减少了与他们的联系。缺乏家庭支持的人职业倦怠程度明显高于有家庭支持的人，分别为52%和28%（P = 0.038）。
三分之一的执业肿瘤学家被诊断感染了COVID-19，大多数人认为他们是在医院被感染的。需要改进包括心理健康项目在内的职业安全措施，特别要强调家庭支持在减轻执业肿瘤学家感知到的职业倦怠方面的作用。
