1687P Oncologists knowledge, attitude and practice in COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impact on them: An international study

Background: As frontline workers facing COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers should be well prepared to fight the disease and prevent harm to their patients and themselves Our study aims to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of oncologists in response to COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on them Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated questionnaire disseminated to oncologists by SurveyMonkey© The tool had 42 questions that captured participants’ KAP, their experiences and the impact of the pandemic Country sub-investigators in Middle East and North Africa region, Brazil, and the Philippines distributed the survey to their contacts via emails and text messaging between April 24 and May 15, 2020 Results: Among 910 physicians that participated in the study, 55% were males, 67% medical or clinical oncologists and 58% worked in public hospitals Only 213 (23%) reported being officially involved in COVID-19 control efforts Level of knowledge regarding the prevention and transmission of the virus was good among 63% of participants Majority (92%) were worried about contracting the virus either extremely (30%) or mildly (62%) and 85% were worried about transmitting the virus to their families 77% reported they would take the COVID-19 vaccine once available, although only 38% got the flu vaccine regularly Adherence to strict precautions was variable including social distancing outside work (68%), no hand shaking (58%), and hand washing (98%) Participation in virtual activities included clinics (54%), tumor boards (45%), administrative meetings (38%);and educational activities (68%) and majority reported plans to continue them after pandemic Participants reported a negative impact of the pandemic on relations with coworkers (16%), relations with family (27%), their emotional and mental wellbeing (49%), research productivity (34%) and financial income (52%) Conclusions: COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on various personal and professional aspects of oncologists Interventions should be implemented to mitigate the negative impact and to prepare oncologists to manage future crises with more efficiency and resilience Editorial acknowledgement: On behalf 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