Cancer will not wait for Covid-19 to pass : patient mobilisation in health policy making in the face of a public health crisis

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on patient organisations in the health field by focusing on four cancer patient organisations and examining their specific responses to COVID-19 restrictions and associated lockdown measures in the UK. Also, it examines the wider implications of these employed responses for Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in health policy making. To mitigate the impact of COVID-19, which triggered a systemic shock and placed significant strain on essential cancer services, cancer patient organisations had to adapt their approach and operations across four key structural domains: donations, staffing, services, and campaigning. At its foundation, this study uses thematic analysis in the broad sense to explore the changing representations of selected patient organisations across the four identified structural domains by examining the content on each of their webpages, which act as ‘public facing’ interfaces for each organisation. This study showcases the varied responses of patient organisations when faced with a public health crisis and presents policy recommendation to secure the patient’s voice in health policy making process.