Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington
Browse

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis and service access in New Zealand–a country pursuing COVID-19 elimination

journal contribution
posted on 2022-06-24, 23:37 authored by Jason K Gurney, Elinor Millar, Alex Dunn, Ruth Pirie, Michelle MakoMichelle Mako, John Manderson, Claire Hardie, Chris GCA Jackson, Richard North, Myra Ruka, Nina Scott, Diana Sarfati
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted cancer services globally. New Zealand has pursued an elimination strategy to COVID-19, reducing (but not eliminating) this disruption. Early in the pandemic, our national Cancer Control Agency (Te Aho o Te Kahu) began monitoring and reporting on service access to inform national and regional decision-making. In this manuscript we use high-quality, national-level data to describe changes in cancer registrations, diagnosis and treatment over the course of New Zealand's response to COVID-19. METHODS: Data were sourced (2018-2020) from national collections, including cancer registrations, inpatient hospitalisations and outpatient events. Cancer registrations, diagnostic testing (gastrointestinal endoscopy), surgery (colorectal, lung and prostate surgeries), medical oncology access (first specialist appointments [FSAs] and intravenous chemotherapy attendances) and radiation oncology access (FSAs and megavoltage attendances) were extracted. Descriptive analyses of count data were performed, stratified by ethnicity (Indigenous Māori, Pacific Island, non-Māori/non-Pacific). FINDINGS: Compared to 2018-2019, there was a 40% decline in cancer registrations during New Zealand's national shutdown in March-April 2020, increasing back to pre-shutdown levels over subsequent months. While there was a sharp decline in endoscopies, pre-shutdown volumes were achieved again by August. The impact on cancer surgery and medical oncology has been minimal, but there has been an 8% year-to-date decrease in radiation therapy attendances. With the exception of lung cancer, there is no evidence that existing inequities in service access between ethnic groups have been exacerbated by COVID-19. INTERPRETATION: The impact of COVID-19 on cancer care in New Zealand has been largely mitigated. The New Zealand experience may provide other agencies or organisations with a sense of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer services within a country that has actively pursued elimination of COVID-19. FUNDING: Data were provided by New Zealand's Ministry of Health, and analyses completed by Te Aho o Te Kahu staff.

History

Preferred citation

Gurney, J. K., Millar, E., Dunn, A., Pirie, R., Mako, M., Manderson, J., Hardie, C., Jackson, C. G. C. A., North, R., Ruka, M., Scott, N. & Sarfati, D. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis and service access in New Zealand–a country pursuing COVID-19 elimination. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 10, 100127-100127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanwpc.2021.100127

Journal title

The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

Volume

10

Publication date

2021-05-01

Pagination

100127-100127

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Publication status

Published

Contribution type

Article

Online publication date

2021-05-01

ISSN

2666-6065

eISSN

2666-6065

Article number

100127

Language

en

Usage metrics

    Journal articles

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC