Financial impact of COVID-19 on DPT students in the United States

Article Sidebar

PDF HTML EPUB XML
Published Mar 15, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.52214/jcept.v4.8157

Main Article Content

Amanda L. Rotondo
Department of Physical Therapy, The College of Staten Island, City University of New York, Staten Island, NY, USA

Abstract

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an impact on students with a change in method of delivery of education, loss of employment, food insecurity and increased stress levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students in the US.


Methods: Nine hundred four DPT students participated in a cross-sectional survey study, completing a 47-question survey including information regarding demographics, level of financial concern, reasons for and consequences of financial concern, student loan debt and employment.


Results: Results indicate an overall increase in the level of financial concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than two-thirds of participants who were employed part-time had disruption of employment. African Americans report higher levels of financial concern compared to Caucasians (P < 0.05). Asian/Pacific Islanders, African Americans and Hispanics report higher difficulty purchasing food compared to Caucasians (P < 0.05). Those with household income levels below $100,000 report higher incidences of needing to purchase additional equipment for online learning compared to higher household income (P < 0.05). Two-thirds of them feel that their employment will be impacted upon graduation, with half anticipating $100,000 and up in student loan debt.


Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was considered to have a significant financial impact on DPT students. Race plays an important role when examining the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. DPT programs and employers need to be cognizant of the financial strain affecting DPT students and new graduates and seek support from government or private programs to assist students.

References


  1. Federal Register: The Daily Journal of the United States Government. Trump DJ. Proclamation on declaring a national emergency concerning the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. 2020. Available from: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/18/2020-05794/declaring-a-national-emergency-concerning-the-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak [cited 22 February 2021].
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment rate rises to record high 14.7 percent in April 2020. Available from: https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/unemployment-rate-rises-to-record-high-14-point-7-percent-in-april-2020.htm?view_full [cited 1 October 2020].
  3. American Physical Therapy Association. Impact of COVID-19 on the physical therapy profession: a report from the American Physical Therapy Association. Available from: https://www.apta.org/apta-and-you/news-publications/2020/impact-of-covid-19-on-the-physical-therapy-profession [cited 1 October 2020].
  4. Gotham Gazette. CUNY and New York city could recover together, or the public university system could be left behind. Available from: https://www.gothamgazette.com/state/9836-cuny-new-york-city-could-recover-together-or-public-university-left-behind [cited 1 October 2020].
  5. American Physical Therapy Association. Physical therapist median income. Available from: https://www.apta.org/your-career/careers-in-physical-therapy/workforce-data/pt-median-income [cited 1 October 2020].
  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social distancing. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/social-distancing.html [cited 1 October 2020].
  7. Online Physical Therapy Programs. Choosing an online physical therapy program. Available from: https://onlinephysicaltherapyprograms.com/ [cited 2 August 2021].
  8. Iyer P, Aziz K, Ojcius DM. Impact of COVID19 on dental education in the United States. J Dent Educ (2020) 84(6): 718–22. doi: 10.1002/jdd.12163
  9. Akers A, Blough C, Iyer MS. COVID-19 implications on clinical clerkships and the residency application process for medical students. Cureus (2020) 12(4): e7800. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7800
  10. Inside Higher Ed. The hidden expenses of remote teaching. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/10/06/hidden-yet-rising-expenses-teaching-remotely-during-pandemic-opinion [cited 1 October 2020].
  11. Wan Mohd Yunus W, Badri S, Panatik SA, et al. The unprecedented movement control order (lockdown) and factors associated with the negative emotional symptoms, happiness, and work-life balance of Malaysian University students during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Front Psychiatry (2021) 11: 566221. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.566221
  12. Owens MR, Brito-Silva F, Kirkland T, et al. Prevalence and social determinants of food insecurity among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrients (2020) 12(9): 2515. doi: 10.3390/nu12092515
  13. Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. By the numbers. Available from: https://www.capteonline.org/ [cited 2 August 2021].
  14. American Physical Therapy Association. Physical therapist centralized application service applicant data report 2016–2017. Available from: http://www.ptcas.org/uploadedFiles/PTCASorg/About_PTCAS/PTCASApplicantDataRpt.pdf [cited 5 April 2021].
  15. Ambler SB. The debt burden of entry level physical therapists. Phys Ther (2020) 100: 591–9. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzz179

Article Details

Keywords:
COVID-19, finances, DPT students, student loans, pandemic, job outlook
Issue
Vol. 4 (2022)
Section
Original Research Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Rotondo, A. L. (2022). Financial impact of COVID-19 on DPT students in the United States. The Journal of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy, 4. https://doi.org/10.52214/jcept.v4.8157