Abstract
Background. The changes and general alarm of the current COVID-19
pandemic have amplified the sense of precariousness and vulnerability
for family members who, in addition to the emotional trauma of the
cancer diagnosis, add the distress and fear of the risks associated with
infection. The primary objectives of the present study was to
investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
parents of pediatric cancer patients, and to investigate the level of
stress, anxiety, and the child’s quality of life perceived by the
parents during the Covid-19 epidemic. Methods. The parents of 45
consecutive children with solid and haematological tumors were enrolled.
Four questionnaires (Impact of Event Scale-Revised - IES-R ; Perceived
Stress Scale - PSS; Spielberger State - Trait Anxiety Inventory - STAI-Y
; Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory - PedsQL) were administered to the
parents at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown. Results. 75% of
parents exhibited remarkable levels of anxiety, with 60 subjects in
state scale and 45 subjects in trait scale having scores that reached
and exceeded the STAI-Y cut off. The bivariate matrix of correlation
(Figure 1) found a strong significant positive correlation between the
IES-R and PSS scores (r = 0.55, P < 0.001). There was a
positive correlations between the PSS and PedsQL (emotional needs) scale
(P < 0.001) and a negative correlation between IES-R and
STAI-Y (P < 0.001). Conclusion. The results confirm that
parents of pediatric cancer patients have a high psychological risk for
post-traumatic symptoms, high stress levels, and the presence of
clinically significant levels of anxiety.