Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Urologists in Germany - Kölner UniversitätsPublikationsServer

Paffenholz, Pia, Peine, Arne, Fischer, Nicolas ORCID: 0000-0003-3113-6886, Hellmich, Martin, Pfister, David, Heidenreich, Axel and Loosen, Sven H. (2020). Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Urologists in Germany. Eur. Urol. Focus, 6 (5). S. 1111 - 1120. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER. ISSN 2405-4569

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DOI:10.1016/j.euf.2020.06.001

Abstract

Background: In order to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Germany has implemented drastic restrictions on public or social life, while health institutions are invoked to postpone elective procedures. Although urologists are less involved in the direct treatment of COVID-19 patients, the current situation strongly affects the urological work routine. Objective: To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various aspects of work and personal life among urologists in Germany. Design, setting, and participants; A total of 589 urologists in Germany participated in an online survey between March 27 and April 11, 2020. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Participants were stratified into subgroups according to professional characteristics. Results and limitations: Most urologists rated Germany as well prepared and the increasing restrictions of social life as very positive. Routine operation was more restricted in hospitals than in the outpatient sector (p = 0.046). Moreover, urologists from the outpatient sector felt significantly less prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.001), reported a higher shortage of protective medical equipment (p < 0.001), and described a tendency toward a higher level of threat (p = 0.054). Although restrictions regarding telemedicine approaches were reported by 60% of participants, the outpatient sector used telehealth more frequently than hospitals (25.5% vs 17.0%, p < 0.001). Limitations include the national design and the restricted survey period. Conclusions: This survey systematically evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on personal and professional aspects of German urologists. We identified several issues, such as a higher shortage of medical protective equipment in the outpatient sector that could trigger specific measures to further improve the quality of urological care in Germany. Patient summary: We evaluated a potential impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on professional and personal aspects of the urologists in Germany. Our results suggest that the outpatient sector should receive specific attention as, for example, shortage of protective equipment was more common. (C) 2020 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:

Journal Article

Creators:

Creators	Email	ORCID	ORCID Put Code
Paffenholz, Pia	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED
Peine, Arne	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED
Fischer, Nicolas	UNSPECIFIED	orcid.org/0000-0003-3113-6886	UNSPECIFIED
Hellmich, Martin	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED
Pfister, David	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED
Heidenreich, Axel	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED
Loosen, Sven H.	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED	UNSPECIFIED