INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread economic decline, social distancing, and personal challenges profoundly impacted the world and the workplace. In academic research, many were forced to end in-person lab work, animal studies, and the recruitment of human subjects, while shifting their research meetings to an online format. These new laboratory practices likely impacted MSK research productivity and could have disparate effects on certain populations. This study was initiated by members of the Orthopaedic Research Society Spine Section to determine the impact of the COVID-19 the productivity and career prospects of MSK researchers.

METHODS: We developed a comprehensive, web-based, anonymous survey on the impact of COVID-19 on musculoskeletal researchers, which included questions that assessed personal experiences with BHD. This survey was approved by an Institutional Review Board and was distributed in English to MSK researchers at universities and research societies in North America, Europe, and Asia (~4000 individuals). Responses were collected between 7/30/21 and 10/17/21. Here, we report descriptive statistics of COVID-19 impact on research productivity and career prospects across demographics, career stage, laboratory type, and childcare responsibilities.

RESULTS: 138 MSK researchers responded to the survey (response rate, 3-4%), and 126 completed the COVID-19 impact questions. 41% reported >50% impact or complete stop of research activities due to COVID-19, where 48% reported decreased manuscript submissions, 48% believed funding opportunities had decreased, and 14% reported decreased grant application submission (Figure 1). The greatest perceived impact on grant opportunities was reported by those of Asian race (62% n=16; n=2 living in Asia). Furthermore, more MSK researchers with children (57%) reported decreased manuscript submissions during the pandemic than those without children (41%). For faculty, the overall impact of COVID-19 was reported highest by early career faculty, with decreased publication productivity. Of the 45 respondents whose research involved patients or patient samples, 91% reported reduced recruitment, whilst the 79 respondents who used animals in their research 28% reported >10 animals were culled due to COVID-19.

Of concern, 14% of respondents reported a negative effect on career prospects and 6% reported they had lost their job or job offer due to COVID-19. The negative effects on career prospects were predominantly reported by graduate students (40%), postdoctoral researchers (29%), and research staff (10%), but not faculty (0%).

DISCUSSION: Decreased research capabilities, publication productivity, grant opportunities and submissions were reported across demographic groups. These hardships should be considered by funding agencies and institutions when evaluating grant and employment applications. Our findings related to childcare confirm that teleworking parents found it harder to balance work and childcare responsibilities during the pandemic. Institutions may need to protect their employees by improving childcare benefits. Trainees and research staff reported concerning impacts on career prospects or even loss of jobs and job offers, perhaps because >400 US institutions initiated hiring slowdowns or freezes in 2020. Strategies to identify and protect the careers of junior scientists need to be developed to mitigate fall-out from the current pandemic. These results provide a framework for developing targeted programs that serve those most affected.