COVID-19 Pandemic: Preparing to Care for Patients With Cancer From the Perspective of Low- and Middle-Income Countries

As the coronavirus spread from Asia to Western Europe and North America, healthcare institutions in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Interprofessional task forces were established to coordinate institutions’ responses, inventory supplies of personal protective equipment, educate staff and patients, develop procedures for triaging patients and prioritizing care, and provide support to nurses to mitigate their stress. Despite challenges, nurses continued to deliver quality care to patients with cancer.

AT A GLANCE

• The challenges faced by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic are compounded by existing issues, such as extreme poverty and lack of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities.
• Approaches to educating patients about prevention of coronavirus infection in LMICs include posters, telephone calls, short message service text messages, and hospital public address system announcements.
• Concerns expressed by oncology nurses in LMICs, such as fear of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to their loved ones or immunocompromised patients, are similar to those of oncology nurses in the United States.