Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36987435›Full record

ArticleHumanities & social sciences communications2023

The perception of plastic surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic-an analysis of online search patterns on a medical information platform.

Sebastian P Nischwitz, Janis Jung, Hanna Luze, Daniel Popp, Robert Zrim, Thomas Rappl, Lars-Peter Kamolz, Stephan Spendel

Full text read
In one paragraph

Article in Humanities & social sciences communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Sebastian P NischwitzDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-6621-4891
Janis JungMOOCI GmbH, Vienna, Austria.
Hanna LuzeDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Daniel PoppDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Robert ZrimDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Thomas RapplDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Lars-Peter KamolzDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Stephan SpendelDivision of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted global life and transitioned economies and societal perceptions of life as we knew it. Professional and social life mostly ground to a nadir during the first lockdown in Europe in March. As a consequence, measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus were established in medical facilities also and elective plastic surgery procedures were temporarily suspended in our clinic and others. A majority of the population, including those potentially contemplating plastic surgery procedures, spent most of their time at home with ample time available to research information about surgical procedures and other topics online. This investigation analyzes the relevance of plastic surgery during the pandemic on the basis of online search behavior patterns. Online traffic data from the online platform http://www.mooci.org were extracted using Google Analytics over a period of 6 months. The parameters analyzed were: pageviews, session duration, and bounce rate. Additionally, differentiation by areas of interest has been obtained. The data were compared and analyzed before and after the beginning of the first hard lockdown in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. There were no significant differences in regard to pageviews and session duration when comparing time points before and after the beginning of the hard lockdown. The bounce rate exhibited a significant decrease after the beginning of the lockdown, implying a more conscious search for information and greater absorption and retention. There was no difference that could conclusively be attributed to the pandemic in terms of specific areas of interest researched. Society's demand for information about plastic-surgical procedures continues to be steadily prevalent-despite, or even in particular, during a global pandemic. Providing reliable and readily available information about plastic surgery procedures is an important component of a functioning doctor-patient relationship and informed consent. This information may reflect society's increased interest in plastic surgery during the pandemic, or be simply reflective of more spare time at hand to allow for such research. Further studies should investigate the relevance of elective procedures over the entire course of the pandemic.

Indexed as

Medical humanitiesScience, technology and society

Identifiers

PMID36987435
PMCPMC10037363

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.