Almost a quarter of surveyed physicians say they’ve been personally attacked on social media or by other online means. That’s men and women alike, and in about equal ratios.
However, far more women than men, 16.4% vs. 1.5%, report enduring sexual taunts online.
So found researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago upon analyzing surveys completed by 268 female and 196 male medical doctors.
The project is described in a research letter published Jan. 4 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
In their discussion, senior author Vineet Arora, MD, of UChicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and colleagues cite previous research showing that some women physicians on the receiving end of online harassment withdraw from online activities.
The effect of this, they comment, may be a serious blow to the “accrual of any professional benefits … such as networking and scholarly collaboration.”
Coverage of the research by Northwestern Now quotes the letter’s lead author, Tricia Pendergrast, a second-year medical student at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
“Women in medicine are already less likely to hold leadership positions or be first or last authors of research,” Pendergast says, “so disproportionately abstaining from a platform used for collaboration and networking due to sexual harassment and personal attacks should be a cause for concern.”
Notably, the survey period preceded the descent of the COVID pandemic upon medicine. But that only makes the responses more deserving of attention, Arora suggests.
“Doctors and other healthcare workers are already facing unprecedented stress and mental health challenges from their work,” he says. “Any stress from being online will compound that and put them at risk especially as doctors are being asked to be more vocal on social media to promote vaccination and more.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.