A majority of respondents to a recent Women In Optometry Pop-up Poll said that they are either foregoing personal/leisure summer travel (39 percent) or not sure yet (20 percent). This WO poll asked about summer personal or business travel, as well as precautions that people are taking on a daily basis.
PERSONAL TRAVEL
In terms of personal travel, 22 percent of respondents said that they are planning a family trip, and another 12 percent said that they are traveling alone. Ten percent noted that travel will be limited to some portion of the family. Five percent said that they and a spouse will be traveling together, and the same percentage said that just the kids will be traveling. Some noted that they have tentative plans for a quiet vacation, such as renting a cottage, and others noted that they have cancelled their summer travel plans.
TRAVEL TO BUSINESS MEETINGS
When it comes to traveling to a summer or fall industry meeting, there’s more consensus: no, thanks. Eighty-one percent of respondents do not have plans to travel to a meeting. Ten percent said that they have tentative plans to go, while another 7 percent said they do plan to travel because they can drive to the destination. Only two percent said they have air travel tickets. Five percent aren’t sure.
OFFICE PRECAUTIONS
Generally, respondents said they are quite firm in following health guidelines in the office. These include wearing masks or shields, using hand sanitizer and sanitization strategies and screening staff and patients upon arrival. On a 1-5 scale, with 1 being quite lax and 5 being super compliant, 76 percent rated themselves a 5, and 24 percent rated themselves a 4.
PERSONAL PRECAUTIONS
Asked the same question about their personal behaviors, respondents showed a greater variety of responses. When it comes to wearing masks in indoor spaces, maintaining social distancing and avoiding crowded social spaces, a smaller majority rated themselves quite compliant. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they were super compliant – a 5 rating. Thirty-one percent rated themselves a 4. Ten percent rated themselves a 3, and 5 percent rated themselves a 2.
One respondent wrote in, saying, “It would be interesting to map the “supercompliant” and “lax” responses by region. In Connecticut, we are NOT lax. When the town you live in has hundreds of cases, one isn’t casual about distancing.”
The vast majority of respondents to this Pop-Up Poll were women: 83 percent women ODs and 10 percent women who are not ODs.
