Across the world, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to cancer diagnosis and subsequent clinical services has been profound. In regions with widespread community transmission of the disease, this impact endured throughout 2020 and into 2021, and has resulted in a significant backlog of under-diagnosed and under-treated disease in these regions.
Members of the C3 Research Group have actively supported the work of Te Aho o Te Kahu – Cancer Control Agency to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on cancer services in New Zealand. We have done this through membership of the Agency's COVID-19 Data Response Advisory Group, and by assisting with monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care and outcomes in New Zealand. This work is ongoing, and we are privileged to have the opportunity to contribute to this kaupapa.
Key publications
Gurney, J.K, Millar, E., Dunn, A., Pirie, R., Mako, M., Manderson, J., Hardie, C., Jackson, CGCA, 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.
Elinor Millar, Jason Gurney, Suzanne Beuker, Moahuia Goza, Mary-Ann Hamilton, Claire Hardie, Christopher GCA Jackson, Michelle Mako, Tom Middlemiss, Myra Ruka, Nicole Willis, Diana Sarfati (2021). Maintaining cancer services during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Aotearoa New Zealand experience. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 11, 100172.
McLeod, M., Gurney, J., Harris, R., Cormack, D., King, P. (2020). COVID-19: we must not forget about Indigenous health and equity. ANZ Journal of Public Health, 44(4), p253-256.