Current situation and trends of online academic activities for oncologists during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicenter survey.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to investigate the current situation and future trends of online academic activities for oncologists during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: From April 22 to May 5, 2020, a multicenter survey was conducted using an online questionnaire platform. To compare categorical variables, χ2-test, the kappa consistency analysis, and Wilcoxon rank sum test were applied. For all statistical hypotheses, P<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: In the present study, 2,120 oncologists participated in the survey. Of these, 2,035 respondents participated in online academic activities. During the pandemic, online academic activities significantly increased [oncologists who participated in online academic activities ≥60% 64.58% (during the pandemic) vs. 10.90% (before the pandemic), Cohen's kappa coefficient =0.0499, P<0.001]. The findings indicated that 90.6% of respondents considered that the online academic activities would become a future trend. The main reason for the increase in online academic activities was due to in-person academic conferences and diagnoses/treatment being affected by the pandemic. Both speakers/chairs and audiences agreed that online academic activities resulted in reduced stress (61.15% vs. 67.26%, respectively; χ2=7.009, P=0.03). In the present study, 62.21% of audiences considered that the recording function of online activities was very important (score 5), while only 53.86% of the speakers had the same opinion (Z=-3.5340, P<0.001). Compared with provincial capital cities and other cities, the participants from first-tier cities thought that online academic activities required significant physical energy (χ2=6.41, P=0.040), and were more reluctant for the playback of activity contents (χ2=9.33, P=0.002) and the screenshot of activity contents (χ2=41.99, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, online academic activities have become the main form of academic exchanges for oncologists. Taking full advantage of online academic activities and paying adequate attention to the participants' requirements with different roles and titles, and from different cities, are key to improving the quality of and involvement in online academic activities.