COVID-19 and breast cancer care: How multidisciplinary teams managed the quality of care

Background: Organizations worldwide have faced many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the health care sector, including breast cancer, multidisciplinary teams have suffered disruptions due to changes in the organization of work and in membership composition. Moreover, the entire health care workforce has been impacted by significant stress. Purpose: This study aimed to understand how these challenges affected the probability of observing changes in breast unit (BU) patients' perceptions of the quality of care received. Methodology/approach: We tested three research hypotheses using a sample of 366 patients nested in 68 BUs, performing logistic regression using STATA 14. Results: The stress experienced by BU team leaders had a positive impact on the perceived stability of quality of care, whereas changes in team composition and social distancing among members had a negative impact on it. Practice implications: Health care managers should develop new training paths to help professionals adapt to new ways of working using appropriate technologies. Organizations should make teams able to share knowledge and practices through specific instruments, such as repository tools that can support teams even in cases of membership changes. Policymakers should pay greater attention to the mental health of health care workers, especially in emergencies. Conclusions: This paper highlights the key factors that enable multidisciplinary teams to succeed, even under emergency conditions.