Juggling act: COVID-19’s impact on the quality of life of Gynecologic Oncologists (053)

Objectives: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gynecologic Oncologists’ professional quality of life. Methods: Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) members classified as full member Gynecologic Oncologists were surveyed via an anonymous RedCAP online survey regarding their professional quality of life. The survey was composed of a brief questionnaire to assess basic demographics and the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on their personal and professional lives. This was followed by the ProQOL survey, a validated scale to assess the professional quality of life. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Associations between sociodemographic variables and professional quality of life were analyzed utilizing logistic regression. Results: Of the 1,241 invited members, 151 (12%) completed the survey. The median age was 46 years old. Most participants were female (60%), White (78%), and were in academic practice (56%). Few (3%) reported being cross deployed to care for COVID-19 patients. Most (64%) reported a stable patient volume during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some experienced either a decrease (19%) or an increase (17%) in patient volume. The majority (60%) reported having children under the age of 18 or having children older than 18 that required care/supervision. Half (51%) of that group reported being the primary care organizer for their children. A third (34%) of those with children reported changing childcare plans due to COVID-19. The respondents who had their childcare altered by COVID-19 were 5.3 times as likely to have moderate or high burnout scores compared to those who did not have childcare impacted by the pandemic (OR: 5.3, p=0.003). Logistic regression demonstrated that among respondents with children who required childcare, females were 3.4 times as likely to have moderate or high burnout compared to their counterparts (p=0.05). Conclusions: The majority of Gynecologic Oncologists did not experience significant changes to their work type or workload as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was a significant impact on the personal lives of those with children. Gynecologic Oncologists who had their childcare plans altered due to COVID-19 experienced significant levels of moderate to high burnout compared to those who did not have these personal stressors at home.