1717P Behavioral practices of cancer patients during COVID-19 pandemic: A Middle East and North Africa Study

Background: Cancer patients are vulnerable population that are exposed to different risks and harms during COVID-19 pandemic Our study goal is to evaluate the behavioral response of cancer patients to the pandemic in countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated questionnaire administered via SurveyMonkey© to cancer patients in 13 centers in 6 countries in the MENA region: namely, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco The tool included 45 questions inquiring about patients’ demographics and behavioral practices during the crisis Results: 1,012 patients were enrolled in the study between April 21 and May 15, 2020 Median age was 50 years (14-92), 67% were females, 39% had a college degree, and 75% were married Most common reported cancer was breast cancer (40%) followed by gastrointestinal malignancies (15%) Only 3% know someone who has COVID-19 infection Patients were worried about contracting the infection strongly (33%) or mildly (48%) Reporting strict adherence to precautions included avoiding the following actions: hand shaking (83%%), hugging and kissing (91%), social gathering (98%), meeting friends (91%), and visiting markets (80%) On the other hand, they were doing the following: repeated hand washing (77%), keeping distance from others (67%), using masks in public areas (77%), hand sanitizer (69%) and soap (81%) Some of the patients reported adopting healthier diet (35%), using dietary supplement (18%), reciting Quran (61%) or supplications (75%) About 23% of them will choose not to show up for scheduled medical appointment and 43% had appointment cancellation per request from medical team (31%) or patients themselves (12%) However, treatment session cancellation occurred per request from medical team in (11%) or patients in (4%) Interestingly, 84% of participants prefer virtual appointments over regular visits Conclusions: Majority of cancer patients in the study are adopting adequate precautions to prevent exposure to infection Further studies are required to evaluate the patients’ emotional well-being and other harms resulted from the pandemic to prevent detrimental effect on patients outcome Editorial acknowledgement: On behalf of the International Research Network on COVID-19 Impact on Cancer Care (IRN-CICC) Legal entity responsible for the study: The authors Funding: Has not received any funding Disclosure: A R Jazieh: Research grant/Funding (self): MSD All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest