European radiation oncology after one year of COVID-19 pandemic.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Slotman BJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8049845 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
European radiation oncology after one year of COVID-19 pandemic.
Slotman Ben J BJ Cremades Valerie V Kirby Anna M AM Ricardi Umberto U
Clinical and translational radiation oncology 20210416
Similar Datasets
Project description:Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of COVID-19 severity using the Illumina HumanMethylationEPIC microarray platform to analyze over 850,000 methylation sites, comparing COVID-19 patients during and one year after infection, using whole blood tissue.
2022-02-23 | GSE197152 | GEO
Project description:PurposeWe evaluated the impact of a virtual radiation oncology clerkship.Methods and materialsWe developed a 2-week virtual radiation oncology clerkship that launched on April 27, 2020. Clerkship components included a virtual clinic with radiation oncology faculty and residents, didactic lectures, student talks, and supplemental sessions such as tumor boards and chart rounds. Medical students completed pre- and post-clerkship self-assessments. Faculty and resident participants also completed surveys on their experience with virtual lectures and clinics. Pre- and post-clerkship results were compared using a 2-sided paired t test. An analysis of variance model was used to analyze the clerkship components.ResultsTwenty-six medical students, including 4 visiting students, enrolled over 2 clerkship periods (4 weeks). All students completed the pre- and post-clerkship self-assessments and agreed that the clerkship improved their understanding of radiation oncology. Compared with 3 (11.5%) students who agreed that they understood the daily responsibilities of a radiation oncologist before the clerkship, 22 (84.6%) students agreed and 3 (11.5%) strongly agreed that they understood the daily responsibilities of a radiation oncologist after the clerkship (P < .0001). Although 15 students (57.7%) reported an increased interest in radiation oncology because of the clerkship, the mean level of interest in radiation oncology as a career remained the same, with pre- and post-clerkship scores of 3.0 (±0.9) and 3.0 (±1.1) on a 5-point scale, respectively (P = .7). Students found virtual clinic and didactic lectures to be the most valuable components of the clerkship. Most respondents agreed (30.8%) or strongly agreed (65.4%) to recommend the clerkship to their classmates.ConclusionsOur virtual clerkship was effective in increasing medical student interest in and knowledge about radiation oncology. These data will help optimize a new paradigm of virtual radiation oncology education for medical students during COVID-19 and beyond.
| S-EPMC7462792 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionWith the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have been forced to follow strict social isolation guidelines. While crucial to control the pandemic, isolation might have a significant impact on productivity and mental health. Especially for researchers working in healthcare, the current situation is complex. We therefore carried out a survey amongst researchers in the field of radiation oncology to gain insights on the impact of social isolation and working from home and to guide future work.Materials and methodsAn online survey was conducted between March 27th and April 5th, 2020. The first part contained 14 questions intended to capture an overview of the specific aspects related to research while in isolation. The second (optional) part of the questionnaire was the validated Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a self-reported measure used to assess levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms.ResultsFrom 543 survey participants, 48.8% reported to work full-time from home. The impact on perceived productivity, with 71.2% of participants feeling less productive, caused 58% of participants to feel some level of guilt.Compared to normative data, relatively high levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms were recorded for the 335 participants who filled out the HADS questionnaire. Group comparisons found the presence of a supportive institutional program as the sole factor of statistical significance in both anxiety and depressive symptom levels. People having to work full-time on location showed higher depressive symptom levels than those working from home. Anxiety scores were negatively correlated with the number of research years.ConclusionResults of the survey showed there is a non-negligible impact on both productivity and mental health. As the radiation oncology research community was forced to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, lessons can be learned to face future adverse situations but also to improve work-life balance in general.
| S-EPMC7299875 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 pandemic the ESTRO School who provides international non-profit postgraduate education in Radiation Oncology and related disciplines, including Medical Physics and Radiation Technology, had to close down all live educational activities and turn online, although having only limited experience. The paper describes the experience, discusses the limitations and benefits of online education and suggests directions for the future.Materials and methodsData about format and feedback from attendees and faculty members from the course activities held in 2019, 2020 and 2021 were made available from the ESTRO School.ResultsIn 2020, all but two out of thirty live courses that happened before the lockdown were canceled. Among the 18 courses scheduled in the second half of the year, seven went online with a short notice. Each course planned their activities quite differently, from compressed courses with consecutive full days online program to courses over several weeks with a few hours online a week. Both numbers of participants and different nationalities were higher than live courses in 2019 for the seven courses happening online, and courses were well evaluated by participants and faculties. Roughly-one-third of participants would prefer online courses in the future.DiscussionAlthough online education was well received by the majority, pros and cons exist and especially the personal discussions and networking were missed. Online education and live education are not comparable but can complement each other. Careful balancing these activities in the future is important and strategies for online andragogy are needed.
| S-EPMC9554011 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThe first year of the COVID-19 pandemic presented a series of stressors that could relate to psychological difficulties in children and adolescents. Executive functioning (EF) supports goal achievement and is associated with life success, and better outcomes following early life adversity. EF is also strongly related to processing speed, another predictor of life outcomes.MethodsThis longitudinal study examined 149 youths' pre-pandemic EF and processing speed abilities as predictors of self-reported emotional, cognitive, and social experiences during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. EF and processing speed were measured with a total of 11 behavioral tasks. The COVID-era data was collected during two timepoints, during early (May-July 2020) and mid- (January-March of 2021) pandemic.ResultsBetter pre-pandemic EF skills and processing speed abilities predicted more mid-COVID-19 pandemic emotional and cognitive difficulties. On the other hand, better switching (a subcomponent of EF) and processing speed abilities predicted more mid-pandemic social interactions. EF and processing speed abilities did not relate to the well-being reports from the initial months of the pandemic. Our EF - but not processing speed - results were largely maintained when controlling for pre-pandemic mental health burden, socioeconomic status (SES), and gender.DiscussionBetter cognitive abilities may have contributed to worse mid-pandemic functioning by supporting the meta-cognition needed for attending to the chaotic and ever-changing pandemic news and advice, leading to higher stress-induced worry and rumination. Our study highlights a potential downside of higher EF - often largely viewed as a protective factor - in youth.
| S-EPMC10156991 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Introduction and backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has required rapid and repetitive adjustment of radiotherapy practice, hospital-level and department-level organization and hygiene measures. To prospectively monitor and manage stress levels and health concerns, employees of a radiation oncology department were invited to participate in weekly online surveys during the first year of the pandemic.Materials and methodsStarting March 31st, 2020, cross-sectional online surveys were distributed to all employees of the Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich. The survey included questions about the profession, the work setting, the global stress level as well as the health concerns during the past work week. Stress levels and health concerns were assessed on a 10-point scale. SurveyMonkey® was used to conduct the survey. Distribution was performed via email. Participation was anonymous and voluntary.ResultsBetween March 2020 and February 2021, 50 weekly surveys were distributed to 127 employees on average and resulted in 1,877 individual responses. The average response rate was 30%. The mean global stress level varied significantly by profession, ranging from 2.7 (±2.5) points for administrative staff to 6.9 (±2.3) points for radiation therapy technicians (p < 0.001). The mean global stress level was highest with 4.8 (±2.9) points for in-hospital work with direct patient contact. Health concerns were highest regarding family and friends with 4.0 (±3.1) points on average. Changes of the stress level varied in correlation with infection waves.ConclusionWeekly online surveys for prospective assessment of stress levels and health concerns were successfully conducted during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicating their feasibility and value to monitor profession and workplace specific stress patterns and to allowed for tailored interventions. The physical and mental health of frontline healthcare workers in radiation oncology should remain a top priority for departmental leadership beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC9176183 | biostudies-literature
Project description:First-year college students in the 2019-2020 academic year are at risk of having their mental health, identity work, and college careers derailed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess emerging and evolving impacts of the pandemic on mental health/well-being, identity development, and academic resilience, we collected data from a racially, ethnically, geographically, and economically diverse group of 629 students at four universities across the US within weeks of lockdown, and then followed up on these students’ self-reported mental health, identity, and academic resilience three times over the following year. Our findings suggest that: 1) students’ mental health, identity development, and academic resilience were largely negatively impacted compared to pre-pandemic samples; 2) these alterations persisted and, in some cases, worsened as the pandemic wore on; and 3) patterns of change were often worse for students indicating more baseline COVID-related stressors.
| S-EPMC9535459 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The aim of this study was to evaluate the major life changes that Italian people experienced after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed the psychological and physical impact of COVID-19 within one year of the pandemic situation, and its possible correlation with the positive COVID-19 trend in the Italian region. We invited Italian people to complete a cross-sectional, online survey within a three-week period from 14 March to 4 April 2021. The survey collected data on the participants' stress and physical levels, attitude, perceived control, norms, personal and professional backgrounds, and place of stay in the last year. We used Student's t-test and the software package GRETL for Windows to assess the association between the study outcome variables and the explanatory variables (stress, attitude, perceived control, and norms). All participants who declared a level of physical stress in their answer suffered from psychological stress, but not vice versa. The result to be highlighted is that this level of stress was found more in women and in the age range of 21-45 years.
| S-EPMC8656865 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have had positive (although short-lived, e.g., reduction in pollution due to lockdown) as well as negative (e.g., increasing plastic pollution due to use of disposable masks, etc.) impacts on the environment. The pandemic-environment linkage also includes circumstances when regions experienced extreme weather events, such as floods and cyclones, and disaster management became challenging. This study aims to examine the trends in public discourses on Twitter on these interactions between the pandemic and environment. The present study follows the most recent literature on understanding public perceptions - which acknowledges Twitter to be an abundant source of information on public discussions on any global issue, including the pandemic. A Python-based code is developed to extract Twitter data spanning over a year, and analyze the presence of covid-environment related keywords and other attributes. It is found that the Twitterati aggressively viewed the impacts (such as economic slowdown and high mortality) of the pandemic as miniatures of the results of future climate change. The community was also highly concerned about the varying air and plastic pollution levels with the change in lockdown and covid prevention policies. Extreme weather events were a high-frequency topic when they impacted countries such as India, the USA, Australia, the Philippines and Vietnam. This study makes a novel attempt to provide an overview of public discourses on the pandemic-environment linkage and; can be a crucial addition to the literature on assessing public perception of environmental threats through Twitter data mining.
| S-EPMC9970929 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-BSST1055 | biostudies-other