Coping Strategies and Related Factors among Patients with Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Tehran, Iran (2021-2022).

Background: Patients with cancer often struggle with coping with stress and anxiety. Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis has reduced the availability of coping strategies for managing stress. This study aims to determine coping strategies and related factors in patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 305 patients with cancer admitted to the Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from 2021 to 2022. The researcher used a simple random sampling method. To collect data, a demographic and clinical information questionnaire, along with the Lazarus and Folkman (1985) Ways of Coping Questionnaire, was utilized. Data were analyzed using Spearman's correlation, Mann-Whitney, and ANOVA tests.

Results: The mean (SD) age of participants was 53.90 (13.54). Among the participants, 155 (50.82%) were men, 243 (79.67%) had been diagnosed less than 2 years prior, 166 (54.43%) were undergoing chemotherapy, and 81 (26.56%) had colon cancer. Patients predominantly used positive reappraisal (13.51 (2.61)) and escape-avoidance (12.87 (2.51)) coping strategies more than other strategies. A significant relationship was found between the variables of age, sex, number of children, and education level with the coping strategies of the patients (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The findings indicate that patients with cancer frequently used emotion-based strategies to manage their stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that coping strategies adopted by patients differ somewhat from those before the pandemic. Thus, it is recommended to adjust training according to the demographic factors related to the coping strategies utilized by patients.