Ghirotto Luca, De Panfilis Ludovica, Perin Marta, Miraglia Raineri Alessandra, De Vincenzo Francesco, Díaz Crescitelli Matías Eduardo, Rabitti Elisa, Di Leo Silvia
Qualitative Research Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 28;20(4):e0318241. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318241. eCollection 2025.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, psychotherapy practice underwent a drastic reorganization. To enhance knowledge of the challenges healthcare professionals faced during the pandemic, this study explores the experiences and practices of Italian psychotherapists caring for cancer patients during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This mixed-method study consists of a qualitative cross-sectional survey followed by open-ended semi-structured interviews with a subsample of survey respondents. The data were then triangulated to depict better the experience of caring for cancer patients from the psychotherapists' perspective.
The final dataset included 102 valid responses. Subsequently, one male and 21 females participated in the interview-based study. Qualitative analysis revealed four themes and specific subthemes: 1. patient relationships (the impact of restrictions on family ties, the impact of restrictions within the healthcare environment), 2. clinical practice management (the use of technologies for psychological interventions, timing and continuity of care, changes in the number of requests for psychological interventions), 3. emotional aspects (emotions captured in patients, emotions captured in other professionals, the inner world of the psychotherapists), and 4. organizational recognition (investments in psychological support and service coordination, issues related to employment status).
Our findings provide knowledge of the pandemic's impact on psycho-oncology practice, offering further input for research on innovative tools in psychotherapy and staff support programs and the development of psycho-oncology services that can systematically respond to the multifaceted needs of cancer patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals.
在新冠疫情爆发初期，心理治疗实践经历了剧烈的重组。为了增进对医护人员在疫情期间所面临挑战的了解，本研究探讨了意大利心理治疗师在新冠疫情第一阶段照顾癌症患者的经历和实践。
这项混合方法研究包括一项定性横断面调查，随后对部分调查受访者进行开放式半结构化访谈。然后对数据进行三角验证，以便从心理治疗师的角度更好地描述照顾癌症患者的经历。
最终数据集包含102份有效回复。随后，1名男性和21名女性参与了基于访谈的研究。定性分析揭示了四个主题和具体子主题：1. 患者关系（限制对家庭关系的影响、医疗环境内限制的影响），2. 临床实践管理（心理干预技术的使用、护理的时间安排和连续性、心理干预请求数量的变化），3. 情感方面（患者表现出的情绪、其他专业人员表现出的情绪、心理治疗师的内心世界），以及4. 组织认可（心理支持和服务协调方面的投入、与就业状况相关的问题）。
我们的研究结果提供了有关疫情对心理肿瘤学实践影响的知识，为心理治疗创新工具和员工支持项目的研究以及能够系统应对癌症患者、亲属和医护人员多方面需求的心理肿瘤学服务的发展提供了进一步的参考。
