Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hemato-Oncology Services: A Retrospective Dual-Center Cohort Study in Kazakhstan
Yerdenova M. Izekenova A. Myrkassymova A. Mergenova G. Merzah M. Issenova B. Mamyrkul M. Atabayeva A. Kalibatas V. Nikolic D. Chen Y.
October 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Healthcare (Switzerland)
2025#13Issue 19
Background: Numerous healthcare services have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Specialized healthcare services were postponed or canceled, potentially compromising regular services for hemato-oncology patients. The current study aimed to analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to hemato-oncology services in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the socio-demographic characteristics of patients admitted to two large tertiary centers rendering hemato-oncology services, the City Clinical Hospital 7 (H7) and the Kazakh Institute of Oncology and Radiology (KazIOR). All data were retrieved for the period spanning from 1 March 2019 to 28 February 2022. The retrieved variables included age, gender, type of residence, hospitalization rate, treatment outcomes (discharged/deceased), bed days, diagnoses according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) (acute leukemia and hematopoietic depression, lymphoproliferative diseases, and myeloproliferative diseases), and referral sources (ambulance, another hospital, consultative and diagnostic assistance, primary healthcare, self-referral, and referrals from hematologists’ offices). Results: In the 2019–2022 period, 6763 hemato-oncology hospitalizations were registered: 3583 in H7 and 3180 in KazIOR. The mean age at hospitalization was 55.04 (SD = 16.07) for females and 51.2 (SD = 16.7) for males. The proportion of hospitalized urban and rural patients differed significantly: 6191 (92%) and 571 (8,4%), respectively (χ2 = 13.8, p = 0.001). In the 2020–2021 period, fewer patients were discharged (n = 2047) compared to 2019–2020 (n = 2387) and 2021–2022 (n = 2081) (χ2 = 20.09, p = 0.003). However, the proportion of deaths in the 2020–2021 period (3.5%) was higher than in the 2019–2020 (3.2%) and 2021–2022 periods (2.6%) (χ2 = 20.09, p = 0.003). A total of 403 (19%) hospital admissions were carried out by ambulance (emergency cases) in the 2020–2021 period, 368 (14.8%) in 2019–2020, and 394 (18.3%) in 2021–2022 (χ2 = 2231, p < 0.001). The number of patients transferred from other hospitals to H7 and KazIOR increased by 12.4% in the 2020–2021 period. Conclusions: Our findings indicate a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to hemato-oncology services, leading to increased mortality. Further studies are warranted to explore factors underlying the trends in hospitalizations and mortality of hemato-oncology patients during healthcare crises.
access to healthcare , COVID-19 , healthcare delivery , healthcare services , hemato-oncology care , pandemics
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Department of Epidemiology with the Course of HIV Infection and IK, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, 050012, Kazakhstan
Department of Biostatistics and Basics of Scientific Research, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, 050012, Kazakhstan
Global Health Research Center of Central Asia, Columbia University School of Social Work, Almaty, 050012, Kazakhstan
Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of General Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, 4028, Hungary
Department of Community Health, Technical Institute of Karbala, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Kufa, 54003, Iraq
Department of Nursing, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, 050012, Kazakhstan
Department of Health Politics and Management, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, 050012, Kazakhstan
Department of Public Health, NJSC Semey Medical University, Semey, 071400, Kazakhstan
Department of Health Management, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, 44307, Lithuania
Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Children’s Hospital, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia
College of Integrated Health Science, University at Albany, Albany, 12144, NY, United States
Department of Epidemiology with the Course of HIV Infection and IK
Department of Biostatistics and Basics of Scientific Research
Global Health Research Center of Central Asia
Department of Public Health and Epidemiology
Department of Community Health
Department of Nursing
Department of Health Politics and Management
Department of Public Health
Department of Health Management
Faculty of Medicine
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
College of Integrated Health Science
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