The impact of COVID-19 on oncology professionals-one year on: lessons learned from the ESMO Resilience Task Force survey series

K H J Lim; K Murali; E Thorne; K Punie; K Kamposioras; C Oing; M O'Connor; E Élez; T Amaral; P Garrido; M Lambertini; B Devnani; C B Westphalen; G Morgan; J B A G Haanen; C Hardy; S Banerjee

doi:10.1016/j.esmoop.2021.100374

The impact of COVID-19 on oncology professionals-one year on: lessons learned from the ESMO Resilience Task Force survey series

ESMO Open. 2022 Feb;7(1):100374. doi: 10.1016/j.esmoop.2021.100374. Epub 2021 Dec 17.

Authors

K H J Lim¹, K Murali², E Thorne³, K Punie⁴, K Kamposioras⁵, C Oing⁶, M O'Connor⁷, E Élez⁸, T Amaral⁹, P Garrido¹⁰, M Lambertini¹¹, B Devnani¹², C B Westphalen¹³, G Morgan¹⁴, J B A G Haanen¹⁵, C Hardy³, S Banerjee¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK; Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Imperial College London, London, UK; Immunobiology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
² Victorian Clinical Genetics Services & Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
³ Division of Health Research, Faculty of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
⁴ Department of General Medical Oncology and Multidisciplinary Breast Center, Leuven Cancer Institute, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/kevinpunie.
⁵ Department of Medical Oncology, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK.
⁶ Department of Oncology, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation with Division of Pneumology, Mildred Scheel Cancer Career Centre HaTriCs4, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/OingC1.
⁷ University Hospital Waterford, Waterford, Ireland.
⁸ Vall d'Hebron Barcelona Hospital Campus, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/elena_elez.
⁹ Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/TeresaSAmaral.
¹⁰ Medical Oncology, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, IRYCIS, Alcalá University, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/Piuchagarrido.
¹¹ Department of Medical Oncology, U.O. Clinica di Oncologia Medica, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy; Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Sciences (DiMI), School of Medicine, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/matteolambe.
¹² Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, India. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/devnani_bharti.
¹³ Department of Internal Medicine III, University Hospital, LMU Munich and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Munich, Germany. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/BenWestphalen.
¹⁴ Department of Medical and Radiation Oncology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/weoncologists.
¹⁵ Division of Medical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/HaanenJohn.
¹⁶ Gynaecology Unit, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK. Electronic address: susana.banerjee@rmh.nhs.uk.

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the well-being and job performance of oncology professionals globally. The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Resilience Task Force collaboration set out to investigate and monitor well-being since COVID-19 in relation to work, lifestyle and support factors in oncology professionals 1 year on since the start of the pandemic.

Methods: An online, anonymous survey was conducted in February/March 2021 (Survey III). Key outcome variables included risk of poor well-being or distress (expanded Well-Being Index), feeling burnout (single item from expanded Well-Being Index), and job performance since COVID-19. Longitudinal analysis of responses to the series of three surveys since COVID-19 was carried out, and responses to job demands and resources questions were interrogated. SPSS V.26.0/V.27.0 and GraphPad Prism V9.0 were used for statistical analyses.

Results: Responses from 1269 participants from 104 countries were analysed in Survey III: 55% (n = 699/1269) female, 54% (n = 686/1269) >40 years, and 69% (n = 852/1230) of white ethnicity. There continues to be an increased risk of poor well-being or distress (n = 464/1169, 40%) and feeling burnout (n = 660/1169, 57%) compared with Survey I (25% and 38% respectively, P < 0.0001), despite improved job performance. Compared with the initial period of the pandemic, more participants report feeling overwhelmed with workload (45% versus 29%, P < 0.0001). There remain concerns about the negative impact of the pandemic on career development/training (43%), job security (37%). and international fellowship opportunities (76%). Alarmingly, 25% (n = 266/1086) are considering changing their future career with 38% (n = 100/266) contemplating leaving the profession.

Conclusion: Oncology professionals continue to face increased job demands. There is now significant concern regarding potential attrition in the oncology workforce. National and international stakeholders must act immediately and work closely with oncology professionals to draw up future-proof recovery plans.

Keywords: COVID-19; burnout; job performance; oncology professionals; resilience; well-being.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Burnout, Professional* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / psychology
Europe / epidemiology
Female
Health Personnel* / psychology
Humans
Medical Oncology*
Pandemics
Societies, Medical

Grants and funding

WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom