Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32042543›Full record

ArticlePlastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open2019

Patient Representation in Medical Literature: Are We Appropriately Depicting Diversity?

Jonathan P Massie, Daniel Y Cho, Cameron J Kneib, Jacob R Burns, Christopher S Crowe, Megan Lane, Afaaf Shakir, Danielle L Sobol, Janice Sabin, Janelle D Sousa and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Jonathan P MassieDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.
Daniel Y ChoDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine. Seattle, Washington.
Cameron J KneibDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine. Seattle, Washington.
Jacob R BurnsDepartment of Surgery, University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California.
Christopher S CroweDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine. Seattle, Washington.
Megan LaneSection of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Afaaf ShakirDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago Medicine. Chicago, Illinois.
Danielle L SobolDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine. Seattle, Washington.
Janice SabinDepartment of Biomedical Informatics and Medical Education, Center for Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Janelle D SousaDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine. Seattle, Washington.
Eduardo D RodriguezHansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
Thomas SatterwhiteAlign Surgical Associates, San Francisco, California.
Shane D MorrisonDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Washington School of Medicine. Seattle, Washington.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRacial disparities exist in the accessibility, delivery, and quality of healthcare. Clinical images are central to plastic surgery, but choice of images in the literature is susceptible to implicit biases. The objective of this study was to determine if published images reflect the racial demographic of patients.

methodsA search for color photographs and rendered graphics depicting human skin was completed in 6 plastic surgery journals and the New England Journal of Medicine

resultsIn total, 24,209 color photographs and 1,671 color graphics were analyzed. In plastic surgery journals, 22% of photographs were nonwhite and the average number of photographs per article with white skin was 5.4 compared with 1.6 with nonwhite skin (

conclusionsRoughly 60%-70% of the world population and 30% of US cosmetic patients are nonwhite. Images in plastic surgery literature reflect neither racial demographics by global region nor the patient population seeking surgery. To advance equitable care, images should better represent the racial composition of the populations served.

Identifiers

PMID32042543
PMCPMC6964926

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.