Kaori Yagasaki: Interviewing Cancer Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As a specialist in cancer nursing, I have been working on a study using interview methods targeting elderly cancer patients for the past two years.

However, due to the spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, I was forced to refrain from visiting hospitals and suspend my research. It was a time when the number of outpatients plummeted due to requests to refrain from non-essential outings, leaving the facilities deserted. The state of emergency in Tokyo lasted for a long time, and it was finally in the fall of 2020 that I was able to resume the study for a short period.

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy have weakened immune systems, so they are generally highly conscious of infection prevention, and many were even more thorough during the pandemic. Since this study targets the elderly, I was concerned that they might refuse interviews for fear of infection, but contrary to my expectations, many people graciously agreed to participate. To honor this, we fulfilled our responsibility by strictly implementing infection control measures, such as managing the researchers' health, wearing masks, ensuring room ventilation, and maintaining distance from patients.

However, interviewing during the pandemic faced difficulties beyond my imagination. For example, several of the elderly participants had hearing impairments. Wearing masks and social distancing significantly hindered communication. One person who said they could "hear a little" asked me to "please take off the mask." Apparently, they usually supplement their understanding of spoken language by watching the movement of the other person's mouth. That said, I could not take off the mask, so I managed to finish by using written communication and getting closer to the patient to speak loudly. In another interview, I tried wearing a face shield, but my voice was absorbed by the shield, and the dialogue did not go smoothly. In pandemic-era interviews, half of the face is hidden by a mask, making expressions hard to see, and the distance between both parties is far, which is difficult. Since this is a study using interview methods rather than just a conversation, the tone of voice, pauses in conversation, and facial expressions are extremely important pieces of information. Furthermore, the distance from the other person and the seating position are important requirements for drawing out deep thoughts. These were hindered during the pandemic, becoming one of the limitations of the study. As a researcher, it is a troubling issue.

I believe that listening to the raw voices of cancer patients and understanding their true needs forms the foundation for developing new care. Furthermore, interviews with cancer patients are precious opportunities where important things that researchers cannot imagine are shared, providing us with insights. I am filled with gratitude toward those who carefully shared their experiences under conditions that were less than ideal.