A follow up survey on the impact of COVID-19 on hand therapy practice

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus-19 pandemic continues to influence on the hand therapy community. It is important to understand how therapists are currently affected and how things have changed since the onset of the pandemic. PURPOSE: Follow-up on a previous survey and investigate the current status of hand therapy practice 10 months into the pandemic. STUDY DESIGN: Web-based survey. METHODS: A 38-item survey was electronically delivered to American Society of Hand Therapists members between December 9, 2020 and January 6, 2021. Stress, safety measures, changes in practice patterns and telehealth were focus areas in the survey. Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze nonparametric correlations, Chi-Square analysis examined relationships between categorical values and unpaired t-tests were utilized for the comparison of means. RESULTS: Of the 378 respondents, 85% reported higher stress levels compared to pre-pandemic times. Younger therapists expressed more stress over childcare concerns (r(s) = 0.38;P = .000) and job security (r(s) = 0.21; P = .000), while older therapists expressed more stress over eldercare concerns (r(s)= -.13;P = .018). Descriptively, hours spent on direct clinical care were near prepandemic levels. Telehealth is currently used by 29% of respondents and did not correlate to age or years of practice. Postoperative cases (t(423) = 4.18;P = .0001) and people age 50-64-years (t(423) = 3.01;P = .002) were most frequently seen for in person visits. Nontraumatic, nonoperative cases (t(423) = 4.52;P = .0001) as well as those 65 years and older (t(423) = 3.71; P = .0002) were more likely to be seen via telehealth. CONCLUSIONS: Hand therapists are adapting as reflected by the return to near normal work hours and less utilization of telehealth. Respondents still report higher levels of stress compared to prior to the pandemic, and this stress appears to be multifactorial in nature. Weariness with the precautionary measures such as mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing was expressed through open-ended responses.