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The gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academics working in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy
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Accepted Version
Date
2022-07-18
Authors
O'Donoghue, K.
Malamateniou, C.
Walton, L.
England, A.
Moore, N.
McEntee, Mark F.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd.
Published Version
Abstract
Introduction: Healthcare workers have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as have those educating them, albeit differently. Several papers have identified a gendered difference in the impact of the pandemic. This study aims to determine impact of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy (MIRT) academics. Methods: An electronic survey was designed in English on Qualtrics and distributed via email and online platforms to MIRT academics. Fifty-one questions were used; demographic (n=9), work patterns (n=11), general health (n=8), mental health (n=2), physical health (n=10), and workload (n=11). Overall, 46 were quantitative and five were qualitative ‘open-ended’ questions. The survey was open between 3rd March 2021 to 1st May 2021. Quantitative analysis was carried out using MS Excel v 16.61.1ss and SPSS v26. Results: The survey reached 32 countries globally and 412 participants; 23.5% identified as men (n=97) and 76.5% as women (n=315). Women reported worse sleep quality than men and overwhelmingly felt they would not like to work remotely again if given a choice. A higher percentage of males,73% versus 40.5% of females reported getting outdoors less. The CORE-10 validated questionnaire found that 10.3% of males (n= 42) and 2.7% of females (n=11) experienced severe psychological distress the week immediately before the survey was conducted. Conclusion: While the study has identified some gender-related differences in the impact of COVID-19 on the mental and physical health of MIRT academics, both males and females have experienced significant deterioration in health and wellbeing due to the pandemic. Implication for Practice: Developing mental health support for MIRT academics and defining optimum methods for raising awareness is recommended.
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Keywords
COVID-19 , Academics , Researchers , Well-being , Health , Gender
Citation
O'Donoghue, K., Malamateniou, C., Walton, L., England, A., Moore, N. and McEntee, M. F. (2022) 'The gendered impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academics working in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy', Radiography. doi: 10.1016/j.radi.2022.07.001