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Analysis of patient perceptions of Mohs surgery on social media platforms

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Abstract

This study assessed social media content to improve understanding of patient experiences with Mohs surgery. An initial search of public Instagram posts and tweets tagged with “#mohssurgery” or “@mohssurgery” identified 1692 Instagram posts and 115 tweets, of which 1390 and 94 were eliminated, respectively, given that they did not directly include a patient’s own experience. The team analyzed the posts/tweets for patient gender, timing of post prior to or after their procedure, and classified themes related to patients’ experience with Mohs. Analysis showed that 91.4% of Instagram posts and 75.0% of tweets were published post-Mohs surgery, with the majority made by women. The most common theme on Twitter was updating followers on treatment progress (30.0%) and on Instagram, the most common theme was spreading awareness of skin cancer/encouraging others to protect their skin (18.9%). Other common themes included concern of appearance during recovery process, scars after treatment, and healing progress. Social media has the ability to provide a platform for patients to impart their personal experiences with Mohs surgery performed on skin cancer lesions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1475 NW 12th Ave, Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Preetha Kamath, Christina Kursewicz, Giuseppe Ingrasci & Keyvan Nouri

  2. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Rachel Jacobs & Nitin Agarwal

Authors
  1. Preetha Kamath
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  2. Christina Kursewicz
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  3. Giuseppe Ingrasci
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  4. Rachel Jacobs
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  5. Nitin Agarwal
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  6. Keyvan Nouri
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Correspondence to Christina Kursewicz.

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Kamath, P., Kursewicz, C., Ingrasci, G. et al. Analysis of patient perceptions of Mohs surgery on social media platforms. Arch Dermatol Res 311, 731–734 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-019-01944-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-019-01944-7

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