Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic and consequential massive adjustments in everyday
life seem stressful on general populations,1 including
Dutch children.2 Children with cancer and their
parents were suggested to be vulnerable for psychosocial problems
because of already increased stress-levels due to their cancer diagnosis
and treatment,3 because of worries about the potential
impact of COVID-19 illness4 and consequences of the
pandemic on their treatment.5 However, in the first
months of the pandemic, psychosocial stress of Dutch children with
cancer and their parents was not increased compared to the months
before.6 The duration of the pandemic and alternating
phases of more and less restrictive preventative measures may have
impacted psychosocial functioning differently. Thus, we revisit this
subject and aim to compare psychosocial functioning of children with
cancer and their caregivers in several phases of the COVID-19 pandemic
to before the pandemic.