COVID-19: Challenges and Lessons Learned from Early Career Investigators

An ecosystem approach to mentoring research faculty in schools of nursing: The pacific northwest interdependence mentoring model

BACKGROUND

Mentoring can facilitate faculty career development and retention. Given ongoing challenges in academic nursing (e.g., shrinking number of experienced mentors), it is necessary to revisit and improve upon existing mentoring models and practices to support current and future nurse researchers.

PURPOSE

To describe the development of a new faculty-to-faculty research mentoring model.

METHODS

Construction of a model describing mentoring needed by research-focused nurse faculty based on analysis of the literature alongside the authors' personal experiences.

FINDINGS

The Pacific Northwest Interdependence Mentoring Model (PIMM) describes academic nursing as an ecosystem that fosters caring, trust, solidarity, equity, openness, and interdependent relationships among research faculty, administration, institutions, and funding sources.

DISCUSSION

Although mentoring environments differ in unique strengths, weaknesses, mission, culture, and values, the PIMM's approach could be applicable for many schools of nursing and beyond to support the growth of the nursing discipline.

Lessons learnt while designing and conducting a longitudinal study from the first Italian COVID-19 pandemic wave up to 3 years

BACKGROUND

Several scientific contributions have summarized the "lessons learnt" during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but only a few authors have discussed what we have learnt on how to design and conduct research during a pandemic. The main intent of this study was to summarize the lessons learnt by an Italian multidisciplinary research group that developed and conducted a longitudinal study on COVID-19 patients infected during the first wave in March 2020 and followed-up for 3 years.

METHODS

A qualitative research approach embedded into the primary CORonavirus MOnitoRing study (CORMOR) study was developed, according to the the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research. Multiple data collection strategies were performed: each member was invited to report the main lessons learnt according to his/her perspective and experience from the study design throughout its conduction. The narratives collected were summarized and discussed in face-to-face rounds. The narratives were then thematically analysed according to their main topic in a list that was resent to all members to check the content and their organization. The list of the final "lessons learnt" has been agreed by all members, as described in a detailed fashion.

RESULTS

Several lessons were learnt while designing and conducting a longitudinal study during the COVID-19 pandemic and summarised into ten main themes: some are methodological, while others concern how to conduct research in pandemics/epidemics/infectious disease emergencies.

CONCLUSIONS

The multidisciplinary approach, which also included patients' perspective, helped us to protect the consistency and quality of the research provided in pandemic times. The lesson learnt suggest that our research approach may benefit from changes in education, clinical practice and policies.

A prolonged latent phase: An early career in oxytocin during birth

•The author, a nurse-midwife scientist, shares her path to the study of the causes and consequences of clinical oxytocin use.•This paper highlights mentors and key research that informed new thinking about the role of oxytocin during parturition.•Future directions for improving maternal care during childbirth are presented, including genetic and epigenetic perspectives.

Researchers' strategies to cope with the covid-19 impact on their activity

This study aims to characterize the strategies researchers used to cope with Covid-19 impact and to explore the relationship between those strategies, researchers' characteristics and the pandemic impact in their lives. 721 researchers, proportionally distributed among three Spanish regions, answered an online survey on the pandemic impact on their activity. Scales referred to social support, productivity, research tasks, working conditions, and work and personal life balance. An open-ended section was included to collect the strategies they used to cope with the pandemic consequences. 1528 strategies were content analysed and categorised based on their purposes and related to the rest of the impact variables. Results show the predominance of some strategies for the whole sample both at the work level, such as organizing work duties and plans, and at the personal level, such as maintaining life-work balance and improving personal well-being. Results stress to what extent a strategic approach contributed to minimize contextual issues or constraints even in an extreme situation as the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. A non-strategic approach, consisting of just reacting emotionally or dropping research, was the less effective way to maintain interest in research, sustained work and productivity and to warrant work-life balance. Developing a strategic approach was easier for those without caring responsibilities and for men. Women in our study, especially with caring responsibilities, had reduced opportunities to continue with their careers during the pandemic. No evidence of institutional strategies supporting researchers to cope with the situation was found.

Hospitalist perspective on pandemic related clinical and administrative changes: a cross sectional survey study

OBJECTIVE

Hospitalists have played a leading role in caring for hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Many clinical and administrative changes occurred in hospitals to meet the varied pandemic needs. We surveyed hospitalists to understand their perspective on pandemic-related changes in technology, models of care, administration and leadership, impact on personal lives, and which of these changes should be continued versus reverting to pre-pandemic practices.

METHODS

A 30-question survey was distributed to hospitalists working across the United States between April 6, 2022 to May 16, 2022. Baseline demographics were measured, and post-pandemic perspectives related to changes were analyzed. Perspectives were measured using a 5-point Likert scale and responses were categorized into "agree" and "did not agree" for analysis. Variation was assessed using Chi-square or Fisher exact tests. Open-ended questions were reported following qualitative content analysis organized into themes and reported as frequency.

RESULTS

177 respondents (39%) completed the survey. Nearly three-fourths favored hybrid meetings, and two-thirds preferred to continue new models of care. Nearly 90% desired more family and leisure time, continued wellness, and support services, and resumption of social gatherings. No major differences in perspectives were noted between hospitalists at teaching facilities and non-teaching facilities except for resuming protected time for non-clinical activities in those from teaching facilities (83.0% vs 62.5%). Respondents less than age 50 were more likely to prefer virtual meetings (59.0% vs 31.3%). Content analysis of open-ended questions resulted in different themes for each question. Respondents favored more work-life balance and less administrative and logistical work burden.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospitalists preferred to continue the use of technology and new models of care even in the post-pandemic period and express a desire for more work-life balance and less administrative and logistical work burden.

The pandemic and changes in early career researchers' career prospects, research and publishing practices

INTRODUCTION

As part of the Harbnger-2 project, this study aimed to discover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior researchers' work-life, career prospects, research and publishing practices and networking.

METHODS

An online international survey of 800 early career researchers (ECRs) was conducted in 2022. A questionnaire was developed based on three rounds of interviews and distributed using multiple channels including publishers, social media, and direct email to ECRs.

RESULTS

The impact of the pandemic on career prospects, morale, job security, productivity, ability to network and collaborate, and quality and speed of peer review has on the whole been more negative than positive. A quarter of ECRs shifted their research focus to pandemic-related topics and half of those who did, benefited largely due to increased productivity and impact. The majority worked remotely/from home and more than two-thirds of those who did so benefitted from it. While virtual or hybrid conferences have been embraced by the majority of ECRs, around a third still preferred face-to-face only conferences. The use of library online platforms, Sci-Hub, ResearchGate, Google Scholar and smartphone to search and access full-text papers increased. ECRs prioritised journals with fast submission procedures for the publishing of their papers and spent more time on increasing the visibility of their research. Fees were a problem for publishing open access.

CONCLUSION

Although, generally, the pandemic negatively impacted many aspects of ECRs' work-life, certain research areas and individuals benefited from being more appreciated and valued, and, in some cases, resulted in increased resources, better productivity and greater impact. Changes, such as the use of digital technologies and remote working created new opportunities for some ECRs. While continuing work flexibility and hybrid conferences might benefit some ECRs, institutions should also take measures to help those ECRs whose career and productivity have been adversely impacted.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early career dementia researchers: A global online survey

Introduction

The World Health Organization recognizes dementia as a public health priority and highlights research as an action to respond to the consequences, with early career dementia researchers (ECDRs) representing the key driving force. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, biomedical and psychosocial dementia research was strained worldwide. The aim of this study was to understand the impact of the pandemic on ECDRs.

Methods

In autumn 2021, the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Professional Interest Area to Elevate Early Career Researchers (PEERs) and University College London conducted an online survey querying ECDRs’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was shared through the ISTAART network, social media, podcasts, and emailing lists. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results

Survey data from n = 321 ECDRs from 34 countries were analyzed (67.6% women; 78.8% working in academia). Overall, 77.8% of ECDRs surveyed indicated research delays, 53.9% made project adjustments, 37.9% required additional or extended funding, and 41.8% reported a negative impact on career progression. Moreover, 19.9% felt unsupported by their institutions and employers (33% felt well supported, 42.7% somewhat supported). ECDR’s conference attendance remained the same (26.5%) or increased (More: 28.6%; a lot more: 5.6%) since the start of the pandemic. Continental differences were visible, while the impact of the pandemic did not differ greatly based on ECDRs’ sociodemographic characteristics.

Conclusions

The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on ECDRs worldwide and institutions, employers, and funding bodies are urged to consider the implications and lessons-learned when working with, managing, and promoting ECDRs. Strategies related to the pandemic and general career support to improve ECDRs career progression are discussed, including social media training, digital networking, and benefits of hybrid events. Global resources specific for ECDRs are highlighted.

Effects of Negative Emotions and Cognitive Characteristics on Impulse Buying During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously disrupted the individual buying habits along with their consumption patterns. Previous studies indicated that anxiety and depression were related to impulse buying. However, no research has explored the mechanism possibly underlying the association between anxiety, depression, and impulse buying. Based on the regulatory focus theory and the emotion-cognition-behavior loop, this study aimed to examine the impacts of negative emotions on impulse buying and the mediating role of cognitive characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2021, 734 Chinese undergraduates were recruited by cluster sampling and they completed self-report measures of anxiety, depression, intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive flexibility, and impulse buying. Results showed that impulse buying was positively associated with anxiety, depression, and intolerance of uncertainty, while it was negatively associated with cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility fully mediated the effects of anxiety and depression on cognitive facet of impulse buying. Meanwhile, intolerance of uncertainty fully mediated the effects of anxiety and depression on affective facet of impulse buying. Overall, this study shows that different pathways can explain how anxiety and depression exacerbate two aspects of impulse buying, and it highlights the importance of cognitive characteristics for the link between negative emotions and impulse buying. Intervention programs should focus on increasing cognitive flexibility and tolerance to uncertainty of high-risk individuals, so as to strengthen their adaptive purchase behaviors.

Characteristics of early-career nurse researchers negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to identify typical patterns and determinants of early-career nurse researchers (ECNRs: age ≤45 years) who reported that their research activities were negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a data mining methodology. To gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of these ECNRs, we compared them with the characteristics of senior nurse researchers (SNRs: age ≥46 years).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

PARTICIPANTS

1532 nurse researchers.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We conducted an anonymous online questionnaire survey that assessed individual and professional attributes of nurse researchers and their experiences from April to June 2020. We analysed the association between the impact on research activities and the individual and professional attributes using cross-tabulation, and employed the chi-square automatic interaction detection technique to perform population segmentation.

RESULTS

We found that difficulties in research management, an increased burden of student education and organisational management, and organisational management position were relatively important factors for determining the negative impact of COVID-19 on the research activities of ECNRs (p<0.05). For both ECNRs and SNRs, the most relevant determinant of disrupted research activities was 'difficulties in research management' (χ²=34.7 and 126.5, respectively, p<0.001 for both). However, only ECNRs yielded 'position in organisational management' and was extracted only for ECNRs (χ²=7.0, p=0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

Difficulties in research management and an increased burden of student education and organisational management had an unfavourable impact on the research activities of ECNRs. To ensure quality of nursing care and nursing science development during and after the COVID-19 era, it is important to support ECNRs in their nursing research activities and career development. Our findings could contribute to the prioritisation of interventions and policymaking for ECNRs who are particularly at risk of being negatively affected by the pandemic.

Individual risky and protective factors influencing university new graduates' career adaptability during COVID-19: A moderated mediation model

This study examined the characteristics of university new graduates' career adaptability and the effects of individual internal factors during COVID-19. In January 2021, 1160 Chinese university new graduates completed self-report measures. Career adaptability was related to less intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety sensitivity and higher levels of proactive personality and resilience. Resilience mediated the relationships between intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, and career adaptability. Proactive personality buffered the negative effect of anxiety sensitivity on career adaptability. Implications for promoting career adaptability and alleviating the effects of intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety sensitivity in the COVID-19 epidemic and beyond are discussed.

Large, open datasets for human connectomics research: Considerations for reproducible and responsible data use

Large, open datasets have emerged as important resources in the field of human connectomics. In this review, the evolution of data sharing involving magnetic resonance imaging is described. A summary of the challenges and progress in conducting reproducible data analyses is provided, including description of recent progress made in the development of community guidelines and recommendations, software and data management tools, and initiatives to enhance training and education. Finally, this review concludes with a discussion of ethical conduct relevant to analyses of large, open datasets and a researcher's responsibility to prevent further stigmatization of historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Moving forward, future work should include an enhanced emphasis on the social determinants of health, which may further contextualize findings among diverse population-based samples. Leveraging the progress to date and guided by interdisciplinary collaborations, the future of connectomics promises to be an impressive era of innovative research, yielding a more inclusive understanding of brain structure and function.

Career Development Considerations for Academic Physician Mentees and Mentors in the Time of COVID-19: Jump in or Just Dip a Toe?

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted medical research, pushing mentors and mentees to decide if COVID-19 research would be germane to the early career investigator's developing research portfolio. With COVID-19 halting hundreds of federal trials involving non-COVID-19 research, mentors and mentees must also consider the broader moral calling of contributing to COVID-19 research. At the time of writing, the National Institutes of Health had responded to the pandemic with significant funding for COVID-19 research. However, because this pandemic is a new phenomenon, few mentors have expertise in the disease and relevant established resources. As a result, many mentors are unable to provide insight on COVID-19 research to early career investigators considering a pivot toward research related to this disease. The authors suggest 4 ways for mentees and mentors to respond to the changes the pandemic has brought to research funding and opportunities: (1) include COVID-19 research in existing portfolios to diversify intellectual opportunities and reduce funding risks; (2) negotiate the mentor-mentee relationship and roles and expectations early in project discussions-considering, as relevant, the disproportionate burden of home responsibilities often borne by early career faculty members who are women and/or from a minority group; (3) address any mentor limitations in content expertise; and (4) if the decision is to pivot to COVID-19 research, select projects with implications generalizable beyond this pandemic to other infectious outbreaks or to the redesign of health care delivery. Mentors and mentees must weigh the relevance of COVID-19 research projects to the postpandemic world and the amount of available funding against the developing interests of early career investigators. Academic medical centers nationwide must enable seasoned and early career researchers to contribute meaningfully to COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 research.

Learning from lockdown - Assessing the positive and negative experiences, and coping strategies of researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic

With the disruption of nonessential research due to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers faced unexpected changes in their work and personal life. We assessed what challenges researchers encountered during lockdown and whether gender, career level, discipline, and job-permanency influenced their experiences (negative and positive), thereby collecting empirical material which could provide valuable information for future mentoring/supporting practices. Data were collected between July-August 2020 via an online-survey, and answers from 210 respondents (78% female, 21% male, 1% non-disclosed gender) working in Animal Behaviour and Welfare (ABW, 57%), other biological sciences (37%) or social sciences (6%) were analysed. Respondents were post-graduate students (35%), research associates (35%), and professors (22%) or classified as 'other' (8%), and overall fixed-term (55%) and permanent (45%) jobholders. We expected that early career researchers, non-permanent jobholders, and female respondents would report more challenges/less positive experiences during lockdown. Due to the widespread impact of the pandemic, we predicted no effect of academic disciplines. We found great inter-individual difference in the experiences reported by the respondents, with some reporting adaptation to a new routine within a week (31% of the respondents) and/or greater efficiency working from home (19%) while others felt less efficient working from home and/or experienced a greater imbalance towards work (30%) and/or increased personal responsibilities (24%). The most commonly reported challenges were the lack of informal contact with colleagues (63%), a loss of focus due to worry or stress (53%) and/or unsuitable working environments (47%). Postgraduate students, research associates, non-permanent jobholders and ABW researchers reported more work-related challenges (p = from 0.03 to <0.0001) and were more likely to worry about the future (p = from 0.0002 to <0.0001) than other career levels, permanent jobholders, and researchers from other disciplines respectively. We found no gender effect (p = from 0.006 [NS due to Benjamini-Liu correction for multiple comparisons, 24 metrics tested] to 1.000), except that female respondents reported more personal changes affecting their ability to work than male respondents (p = 0.037). On a positive note, most respondents (83%) perceived positive changes during lockdown and 60% reported one or more coping strategies during lockdown, with exercising/outdoor activities and interacting with family/friends most commonly reported. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for overcoming the reported Covid-19-related challenges which could further deliver valuable guidance for supporting/mentoring schemes and activities fostering a more resilient research community.

Psychiatric genomics research during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of Psychiatric Genomics Consortium researchers

Between April 20, 2020 and June 19, 2020 we conducted a survey of the membership of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) to explore the impact of COVID-19 on their research and academic careers. A total of 123 individuals responded representing academic ranks from trainee to full professor, tenured and fixed-term appointments, and all genders. The survey included both quantitative and free text responses. Results revealed considerable concern about the impact of COVID-19 on research with the greatest concern reported by individuals in nonpermanent positions and female researchers. Concerns about the availability of funding and the impact of the pandemic on career progression were commonly reported by early career researchers. Recommendations for institutions, organizations such as the PGC, as well as individual senior investigators have been provided to ensure that the futures of early career investigators, especially those underrepresented in academic medicine such as women and underrepresented minorities, are not disproportionately disadvantaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dismissals and Temporary Leaves in Romanian Companies in the Context of Low Demand and Cash Flow Problems during the COVID-19 Economic Lockdown

The aim of this study is to describe the relations between low demand, cash flow problems, employee dismissals, and temporary leaves experienced by Romanian companies during the economic lockdown in the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Romania (16 March–16 May 2020). For this purpose, we conducted a quantitative study using descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses applied to data collected from company decision-makers. Our results show that demand for products/services and cash flow in companies has decreased significantly, the workforce being affected by dismissals and temporary leaves/furloughing. Additionally, the average linear revenue of companies has been decreasing due to insufficient cash flow, higher absenteeism of workers, customers having been affected, and the demand going down. Therefore, employee dismissals, employee temporary leaves (furlough), and dismissal intentions have been positively correlated with insufficient cash flow in companies and an extremely low demand.

Psychiatric Genomics Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Researchers

Between April 20, 2020 and June 19, 2020 we conducted a survey of the membership of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) to explore the impact of COVID-19 on their research and academic careers. A total of 123 individuals responded representing academic ranks from trainee to full professor, tenured and fixed-term appointments, and all genders. The survey included both quantitative and free text responses. Results revealed considerable concern about the impact of COVID-19 on research with the greatest concern reported by individuals in non-permanent positions and female researchers. Concerns about the availability of funding and the impact of the pandemic on career progression were commonly reported by early career researchers. We provide recommendations for institutions, organizations such as the PGC, as well as individual senior investigators to ensure that the futures of early career investigators, especially those underrepresented in academic medicine such as women and underrepresented minorities, are not disproportionately disadvantaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.