ASPO Abstracts
Impact of COVID-19 posttraumatic stress on psychosocial distress in rural cancer survivors
Category: COVID-19 and Cancer
Conference Year: 2021
Abstract Body:
Purpose: This study explored associations between posttraumatic stress due to COVID-19 and psychosocial
distress in rural cancer survivors.
Methods: Participants (n=195) in the Partnering to Prevent and Control Cancer (PPCC) study who had a
working email address were sent an email invitation to complete an online questionnaire. Of the 195 cancer
survivors contacted, 90 (46.2%) responded to the email invitation and completed questionnaires assessing
posttraumatic stress due to COVID-19 and psychosocial distress (perceived stress, depressive symptoms,
anxiety, and positive and negative affect). One-way analysis of covariance was used to explore associations
between psychosocial distress scores in those with mild, moderate, and severe posttraumatic stress due to
COVID-19, after controlling for gender, age, BMI and education.
Results: Rural cancer survivors who completed the online questionnaire were mostly women (70%), non-
Hispanic white (97.8%), in their 60s (M age=60.4±13.9 years), with overweight (M BMI=29.0±7.6 kg/m2), and
college graduates (67.8%). Most participants were breast (37.8%) or prostate (23.3%) cancer survivors, not
currently receiving treatment (93.3%), and were more than 12 weeks but less than 5 years post-treatment
(93.7%). Over half (53.3%) of participants rated their health as very good or excellent, and 10.0% rated their
health as poor or fair. Participants reported normal or mild (44.4%), moderate (31.1%), or severe (24.4%)
posttraumatic stress due to COVID-19, and posttraumatic stress due to COVID-19 was associated with
significantly greater perceived stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and negative affect and lower positive
affect in rural cancer survivors after controlling for covariates (ps≤.002).
Conclusions: Rural cancer survivors reported moderate to severe posttraumatic stress related to COVID-19,
which negatively impacted their mental health. Findings highlight the potential of the COVID-19 outbreak to
exacerbate the persistent long-term adverse effects of cancer treatment on psychosocial distress among rural
cancer survivors. Psychosocial interventions are critically needed to reduce COVID-19 related distress among
rural cancer survivors to promote health equity among this vulnerable, underserved population.
Keywords: Psychosocial distress, rural health, cancer survivorship