Dataset Information

The impact of COVID-19 on hand therapy practice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Hand therapists and health care providers across the spectrum have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19. Greater insight and information regarding how practitioners have been affected by this unparalleled pandemic is important.

Purpose

Survey research was performed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hand therapy practice.

Study design

Online survey research.

Methods

Four constructs guided the development of the survey: psychosocial and financial impact; safety practice patterns; changes in current practice patterns; use of telehealth. The survey was distributed to members of the American Society of Hand Therapists from April 14, 2020 through May 4, 2020. Descriptive demographic data were obtained. Frequencies were examined using ChiSquare, correlations were examined using Spearman Correlation Coefficient, and means were compared via independent t-test.

Results

A total of 719 members responded to the survey. Eighty-six percent of therapists reported feeling more stress than they did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This level of stress was similar across ages, practice settings, financial stability or instability, and geographical settings. Older therapists (r_s = 0.04) and those that practiced longer (r_s = 0.009) felt more comfortable with in-person treatment. Ninety-eight percent of therapists reported a decrease in caseload. Postoperative cases (P= .0001) and patients ages 19-49 were more likely to receive in-person treatment (P= .002). 46% of therapists reported providing telehealth services. Nontraumatic, nonoperative cases (P= .0001) and patients aged 65 or older were more likely to receive telehealth services (P= .0001). Younger therapists (r_s = 0.03) and therapists working in outpatient therapist owned, outpatient corporate owned, and outpatient academic medical centers (X² [4, N = 637] = 15.9463, P= .003) were more likely to utilize telehealth.

Conclusion

Stress was felt globally among hand therapy clinicians regardless of financial security or insecurity, age, practice area, or geographical setting. Therapists saw a drastic decrease in caseloads. In-person caseloads shifted primarily to postoperative cases.

Study design

Web based survey.

SUBMITTER: Ivy CC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7849501 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health crisis, and surgeons are at increased occupational risk of contracting COVID-19. The impact of the disease on prevalent general surgical practice is uncertain and continues to evolve. The study aimed to study the impact of COVID-19 on general surgical practice in India and the future implications of the pandemic. A survey questionnaire was designed and electronically circulated 1 month after India entered a national lockdown during COVID-19 pandemic, amongst members of Indian Association of Gastro-intestinal Endo-surgeons (IAGES), a surgical association with nearly eight thousand members from across the country. Survey questions pertaining to pre-COVID era surgical practices, impact on current practice, and financial implications were asked. Responses were collected and statistically analyzed. One hundred fifty-three surgeons completed the survey, of which only 9.2% were women. Majority (41%) were into practice for more than 20 years; 36.6% were into private practice at multiple hospitals (free-lancers). Amongst the respondents, 41.8% had mainly laparoscopic practice with mean outpatient consultation of 26 patients/day and elective surgeries of 43 cases/month prior to lockdown. Post-lockdown, daily outpatient consults reduced to 4 patients per day, and 77% had not performed a single elective procedure. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) chemoprophylaxis was reported by 52% surgeons. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was used by 52% for all cases, while 71.5% stated there are insufficient guidelines for future surgical practice in terms of safety. A drop of more than 75% of their monthly income was experienced by 52% surgeons, while 22% faced 50-75% reduction. One third (33%) of respondents own a hospital and are expecting a monthly financial liability of 2.25 million rupees (nearly 30,000 US dollars). COVID-19 has led to a drastic reduction in outpatient and elective surgical practices. There is a definite need for guidelines regarding safety for future surgical practices and solutions to overcome the financial liabilities in the near future.

Project description:IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to a large body of literature regarding the impact of COVID-19 on orthopaedic care and practice. This rapid review aims to synthesize this published literature to give the orthopaedic fraternity an overview about the best practices that need to be followed during this period.MethodologyA rapid review was conducted following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement for rapid reviews on the impact of COVID-19 on orthopaedic care and practice. A Pubmed search was done to identify all literature related to the impact of COVID-19 on orthopaedic care and practice, published between December 2019 and October 2020 using a predefined search strategy. The final review included 375 peer-reviewed articles addressing the objectives.ResultsThe majority of articles were expert opinions ( 37.1%) and narrative reviews (13.1%). There were 17.3% retrospective studies and 2.1% prospective studies with only one randomized control trial and ten systematic reviews. 83.8% of articles had levels of evidence IV and V, 79.5% of the articles were published in core-orthopaedic journals. Maximum publications were from the United States of America (31.7%), followed by India (11.5%). European countries together contributed to 32.0% of all publications.ConclusionCOVID-19 has had a significant impact on all aspects of orthopaedic care and practice. The pandemic has affected outpatient clinics, emergency and elective surgery, rehabilitation, resident training, personnel management, use of personal protective equipment, telemedicine and all sub-specialities of orthopaedics. Orthopaedic practice will require the incorporation of new technologies, restructuring of health systems and reorganizing of training programs for optimal patient care. There would also be a need for frequent review of emerging literature to provide evidence-based guidelines to the orthopaedic fraternity which will not only help in mitigation of transmission of disease but also ensure continuity of optimum patient care.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-021-00354-0.

Dataset Information

The impact of COVID-19 on hand therapy practice.

Background

Purpose

Study design

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Study design

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