Pandemic coping and COVID-19 preventive behaviors among cancer survivors.
Jeanine P D Guidry, Carrie A Miller, Paul B Perrin and 4 others
PMID 37004503WHAT IT FOUND
Cancer survivors in active treatment reported more active and disengaged coping.
Survivors not in treatment reported less adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Higher active coping and lower disengaged coping were associated with better adherence.
Key findings
01Cancer survivors in active treatment reported more active coping and more disengaged coping than survivors not in treatment and adults without a cancer history.
02Survivors not in treatment reported less adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors than adults without a cancer history, while survivors in treatment did not differ from survivors not in treatment.
03Across the sample, higher active coping and lower disengaged coping were associated with more adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors, and these associations did not differ by cancer group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The sample came from a Qualtrics online panel, so it may not represent cancer survivors or adults in the general population. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that coping, depression, cancer status, or demographics caused preventive behavior. Cancer status, depression, coping, and preventive behaviors were measured by participant reports. Data were collected in June 2020, before vaccines and boosters were available, so the prevention context has changed. Time since diagnosis, time since treatment end, and cancer type were not included. The comparison group had a different race composition from the cancer groups, which limits comparison.
Declared interests
This work was supported in part by a National Cancer Institute grant. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation. The authors declared no competing financial interests or personal relationships.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that active coping causes better preventive behavior or that survivors not in treatment are unsafe. This was a one-time self-report survey, so it cannot show cause, and no coping intervention was tested.