Prospective assessment of anxiety among pediatric oncology patients and their caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic a cohort study

Objective: To assess COVID-19-pandemic related anxiety and emotional-behavioral difficulties among oncologic children and their caregivers. Design: Prospective cohort study conducted from March to November 2020. Participants: 76 pediatric oncological and 28 nonmalignant hematological patients aged 1.6–23.4 years and their caregivers. Methods: A total of 104 families completed an age-specific self-report psychological assessment; of these, 20 oncologic families completed the assessment at two time points. Findings: Ten percent of the caregivers and 13.9% of the patients reported anxiety disorder. Additionally, 3.1% of the caregivers reported behavioral difficulties. No significant differences emerged between patients’ self-reports and caregivers’ reports. No differences emerged between oncological and nonmalignant hematological participants. Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic was similar to the reported prevalence of anxiety following a diagnosis of pediatric malignancy. Implications: Real-time assessment of psychological effects revealed no COVID-19-associated anxiety. Nonetheless, late effects will need to be monitored.