Professional practice changes in radiotherapy physics during the COVID-19 pandemic
Bertholet, Jenny (University Hospital Bern)
Aznar, Marianne (Nuffield Department of Population Health. University of Oxford (Oxford, Anglaterra))
Garibaldi, Cristina (Unit of Radiation Research. IEO European Institute of Oncology. IRCCS (Milà, Itàlia))
Thwaites, David (Medical Physics. Leeds Institute of Cancer and Pathology. School of Medicine. Leeds University (Leeds, Regne Unit))
Gershkevitsh, Eduard (North Estonia Medical Centre (Tallin, Estònia))
Thorwarth, Daniela (University Hospital of Tübingen (Tübingen, Alemanya))
Verellen, Dirk (Iridium Network. Antwerp University (Antwerp, Bèlgica))
Heijmen, Ben (Erasmus MC Cancer Institute (Rotterdam, Països Baixos))
Hurkmans, Coen (Catharina Hospital Eindhoven (Eindhoven, Països Baixos))
Muren, Ludvig (Danish Centre for Particle Therapy. Aarhus University Hospital (Aarhus, Dinamarca))
Redalen, Kathrine (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim, Noruega))
Siebert, Frank André (Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein)
Schwarz, Marco (Proton Therapy Department. Trento Hospital. TIFPA-INFN (Trento, Itàlia))
Van Elmpt, Wouter (Maastricht University Medical Center)
Georg, Dietmar (Medical University of Vienna)
Jornet, Nuria (Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau)
Clark, C.H. (National Physical Laboratory (Londres, Regne Unit))

Data:	2021
Resum:	Background and purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed changes in radiotherapy (RT) departments worldwide. Medical physicists (MPs) are key healthcare professionals in maintaining safe and effective RT. This study reports on MPs experience during the first pandemic peak and explores the consequences on their work. Methods: A 39-question survey on changes in departmental and clinical practice and on the impact for the future was sent to the global MP community. A total of 433 responses were analysed by professional role and by country clustered on the daily infection numbers. Results: The impact of COVID-19 was bigger in countries with high daily infection rate. The majority of MPs worked in alternation at home/on-site. Among practice changes, implementation and/or increased use of hypofractionation was the most common (47% of the respondents). Sixteen percent of respondents modified patient-specific quality assurance (QA), 21% reduced machine QA, and 25% moved machine QA to weekends/evenings. The perception of trust in leadership and team unity was reversed between management MPs (towards increased trust and unity) and clinical MPs (towards a decrease). Changes such as home-working and increased use of hypofractionation were welcomed. However, some MPs were concerned about pressure to keep negative changes (e. g. weekend work). Conclusion: COVID-19 affected MPs through changes in practice and QA procedures but also in terms of trust in leadership and team unity. Some changes were welcomed but others caused worries for the future. This report forms the basis, from a medical physics perspective, to evaluate long-lasting changes within a multi-disciplinary setting.
Drets:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Matèria:	COVID-19 ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Radiotherapy ; Medical Physics ; Treatment planning ; Quality assurance
Publicat a:	Physics and Imaging in Radiation Oncology, Vol. 19 (july 2021) , p. 25-32, ISSN 2405-6316

DOI: 10.1016/j.phro.2021.06.002
PMID: 34179522

8 p, 1.1 MB

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Documents de recerca > Documents dels grups de recerca de la UAB > Centres i grups de recerca (producció científica) > Ciències de la salut i biociències > Institut de Recerca Sant Pau
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