Effects of the Pandemic on Orthopedics and Traumatology Staff From Its Beginning (March 2020) to the Post-Vaccination Stage (July 2021) What value can a survey have?

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Bibiana Dello Russo
Mauro Vivas
Lara Emilce Saez
Sergio Barcia
Gala Santini Araujo
Gabriela Aquino
Lucas Piantoni
Virginia Cafruni
Gastón Camino Willhuber

Abstract

Introduction: On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared a global pandemic due to COVID-19 that affected orthopedic practice worldwide. To analyze the influence of COVID-19 on the employment situation of the members of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology (AAOT), we have conducted 3 surveys from the beginning of March 2020 to the post-vaccination stage in July 2021. The objectives were to determine differences between the relative reduction of work (outpatient clinics, surgeries) during the three phases of the pandemic: pre-peak, peak, and vaccination stage and to differentiate between the studied population, protective care, activity, tests, infection, isolation, and vaccination.
Materials and Methods: Prospective survey, in three stages, to members in general, authorized by the Board of Directors, from the beginning of compulsory social isolation (R0 2.8), through the peak and post-vaccination stages.
Results: We observed a low degree of participation that progressively decreased between phases. In the first survey, 6.99% had been tested; in the second, 25.29%; and after 6 months, 88.2%. The reduction of habitual activities and the incorporation of telemedicine as a new way of doctor-patient exchange was the novelty in the second part of the survey.
Conclusion: Protection systems have given an acceptable percentage of reliability with a high vaccination rate among specialists. Despite the risk and fears of contagion, telemedicine has not managed to be an alternative accepted by both professionals and patients.

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How to Cite
Dello Russo, B., Vivas, M., Saez, L. E., Barcia, S., Santini Araujo, G., Aquino, G., Piantoni, L., Cafruni, V. M., & Camino Willhuber, G. (2022). Effects of the Pandemic on Orthopedics and Traumatology Staff From Its Beginning (March 2020) to the Post-Vaccination Stage (July 2021). Revista De La Asociación Argentina De Ortopedia Y Traumatología, 87(3), 433-446. https://doi.org/10.15417/issn.1852-7434.2022.87.3.1451
Section
Artículo Especial
Author Biographies

Bibiana Dello Russo, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mauro Vivas, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina Lower Limb Unit, Orthopedics and Traumatology Service, Hospital de Alta Complejidad en Red “El Cruce”, Dr. Néstor C. Kirchner, Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires, Argentina        

Lara Emilce Saez, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sergio Barcia, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gala Santini Araujo, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gabriela Aquino, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Lucas Piantoni, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Virginia Cafruni, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gastón Camino Willhuber, Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Committee of the Argentine Association of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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