Racial Disparity in Gender Affirming Surgery: A Comparative Study on Plastic Surgeon Social Media Use

Samuel G. Robinson · Asher L Mandel · Jeanette Nicosia · Jacob Siegel · Alireza Hamidian Jahromi

10 citations0/0 files storedPlastic & Reconstructive Surgery Global Open

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Social Media in Health Education LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Diversity and Career in Medicine

Abstract

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.

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2016Barriers to healthcare for transgender individuals 2012Experiences of Transgender-Related Discrimination and Implications for Health: Results From the Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study 1996The Role of Black and Hispanic Physicians in Providing Health Care for Underserved Populations 2013Racial Disparities in Surgical Care and Outcomes in the United States: A Comprehensive Review of Patient, Provider, and Systemic Factors 2017Barriers to Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Individuals 2009Health Care Utilization, Barriers to Care, and Hormone Usage Among Male-to-Female Transgender Persons in New York City 2018Temporal Trends in Gender-Affirming Surgery Among Transgender Patients in the United States 2004Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

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2024Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Plastic Surgery

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