Loading...
Racial Disparity in Gender Affirming Surgery: A Comparative Study on Plastic Surgeon Social Media Use
Robinson, Samuel G. Mandel, Asher Nicosia, Jeanette Siegel, Jacob
Robinson, Samuel G.
Mandel, Asher
Nicosia, Jeanette
Siegel, Jacob
Citations
Altmetric:
Genre
Journal article
Date
2023-05-15
Advisor
Committee member
Department
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Subject
Permanent link to this record
Collections
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1097%2FGOX.0000000000005009
Abstract
Background: In the past 5 years, social media use among plastic surgeons has grown to become a common modality used to promote one’s practice. However, surgeons lack the necessary ethical training to understand how their published content impacts patient opinions and behavior. Social media trends among plastic surgeons may contribute to the reduced rate of Black (non-White) patients accessing gender affirming surgery. Methods: In total, 250 gender affirming surgeons and 51,698 individual posts from social media platform, Instagram, were manually extracted and analyzed. Posts were assessed for inclusion and categorized by the subject’s skin color (White versus non-White) using the Fitzpatrick scale. Results: Of the 3101 included posts, 375 (12.1%) portrayed non-White subjects. Of the 56 included surgeons, White surgeons were found to be 2.3 times less likely to include non-White subjects in their posts, compared with non-White surgeons. Regionally, surgeons practicing in the Northeast had the most racially diverse social media accounts, with over 20% of all posts including a non-White subject. Analyzing data over the past 5 years demonstrated no relative increase in the amount of non-White subjects being displayed on social media, while social media use by gender affirming surgeons had increased by over 200%. Conclusions: The low number of non-White individuals portrayed by surgeons on social media perpetuates the racial disparity seen in patients accessing gender affirming surgery. Surgeons must be conscious of the demographic they portray on social media, as a lack of representation may influence patients’ self-identify and decision to utilize gender affirming surgical treatment.
Description
Citation
Robinson, Samuel G. BS*; Mandel, Asher BS*; Nicosia, Jeanette BS*; Siegel, Jacob BS*; Jahromi, Alireza Hamidian MD, MRCS*,†. Racial Disparity in Gender Affirming Surgery: A Comparative Study on Plastic Surgeon Social Media Use. Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery-Global Open 11(5):p e5009, May 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000005009
Citation to related work
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Has part
Plastic and Recontructive Surgery Global Open, Vol. 11
ADA compliance
For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu