Feature

Medical Social Sciences Professor Patricia Moreno was shocked that her research continued to stay active with data collection and enrollment recruitment after the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

At the beginning of the pandemic, only minor adjustments were needed to accommodate the new circumstances. Couples Cope, one of Moreno’s studies that looks at couples who are undergoing diagnostic assessment for metastatic breast cancer, remained relatively the same through the use of online consent forms, intervention, follow-up assessments, and introductory letters.

There were, however limits on in-person interactions with patients.

“You have the opportunity to have some face-to-face interaction while you answer questions, explain the study, and describe what it will entail,” Moreno explained. “There is an aspect that I think is lost. However, with telephone contact, I think that you’re able to recover some of that ability to build rapport and connect with the patients.”

These restrictions have also affected how Moreno and fellow researchers interact with their team and lab members.

“The day-to-day structure that we used to move forward our projects in our research involved a lot of face-to-face contact. … The absence of that has made things a little bit more logistically challenging.”

Moreno also said she modified the projects to make the studies accessible in the pandemic.

“The weight affecting other researchers who do research like mine … depended on whether or not they had that adaptability to make all of their research activities online — from how you recruit patients, to how you enroll them, to how they participate.”

Although there have been challenges in conducting quality of life research, Moreno said that the pandemic has also brought a new perspective to the research.

“The pandemic has induced a lot of chronic structural stressors into people’s lives. [This has shifted] focus on their immediate day-to-day lives and the things that they’re doing in order to be as well as possible and take care of their families,” she said.

Some social sciences studies have stayed relatively consistent during the pandemic despite impacts to patient interactions, the lab environment, and general research processes. Still, Moreno is grateful to be able to continue her research and looks forward to furthering her research projects and contextualizing her findings in the pandemic. ■