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Editorial
. 2020 Apr 20:14:ed99.
doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.ed99. eCollection 2020.

COVID-19 and its ramifications for cancer patients in low-resource settings: Ghana as a case study

Nuworza Kugbey  1   2 , Naomi Ohene-Oti  3   4 , Verna Vanderpuye  3   5
Affiliations
Editorial

COVID-19 and its ramifications for cancer patients in low-resource settings: Ghana as a case study

Nuworza Kugbey et al. Ecancermedicalscience. .

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a major challenge requiring urgent measures. Cancer care in LMICs, including Ghana, is faced with inadequate numbers of skilled healthcare professionals and essential material resources which negatively impacts the quality of healthcare and wellbeing of patients. In the face of COVID-19, cancer patients are likely to be affected in three key ways: access to healthcare, increased financial toxicity and increased mental health burden as a consequence of strict measures being implemented to contain the virus in Ghana, including partial lockdowns and social distancing. Some cultural beliefs regarding COVID-19 and its influence on the health and wellbeing of cancer patients have also been discussed. Measures by the government to lessen the burden on citizens and health workers are highlighted with possible recommendations for improvement in cancer care in Ghana and other LMICs during this pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Ghana; access to care; cancer care; financial toxicity; mental health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding this work.

References

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