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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic disproportionately affects survivorship outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Perceived threat has been applied to understand vaccination behavior. The purpose of this study was to describe demographic and clinical factors related to the perceived threat of COVID-19 among those undergoing/after HNC treatment. HNC patients who were undergoing or after radiation or chemoradiation were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Participants completed a phone survey that included the Perceived Threat Scale of COVID-19, the Perceived Stress Scale, demographics, COVID-19 screening items, State of Florida COVID-19 screening positive data. Descriptive statistics, Chi Square test, t-test, and multiple regression were performed. Participants (N=30) mean age was 62.5 years (SD=11.1). The most common tumor site was the mouth (37%) and 60% had stage III/IV cancer. The majority underwent chemo-radiation (57%) and had completed treatment (63%). In a multiple regression model, only perceived stress (b=1.20, SE=0.478, t=2.51, p=0.019) and female sex were significant predictors of perceived threat of COVID-19 (b=6.81, SE=2.79, t=2.44, p=0.022). Health messages include threat of COVID-19 should be carefully designed. HNC cancer patients, especially females, who perceived more threat from COVID-19, are those who encountered more stressful emotion. Effective and transparent communication from scientific organizations, public health experts, and media outlets on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines should be the focus to promote vaccination behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients experience treatment-related complications that may interfere with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to describe the symptom experience (shoulder pain) and functional status factors that are related to global and domain-specific HRQOL at one month after HNC surgery. In this exploratory study, we examined 29 patients.The outcome variables included globalHRQOL as well as physical, functional, emotional, and social well-being. Symptom experience and functional status factorswere the independent variables. In the symptomexperience variables, shoulder pain distress was negatively associated with physical well-being (R2 = 0.24). Among the functional status variables, eating impairment was negatively related to global HRQOL (R2 = 0.18) and physical well-being (R2 = 0.21). Speaking impairment and impaired body image explained a large amount of the variance in functional well-being (R2 = 0.45). This study provided initial results regarding symptom experience and functional status factors related to poor HRQOL in the early postoperative period for HNC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]