Physician-scientists or celebrities? Kardashian-index of gastroenterologists.

Autor:	Ugonabo O; Department of Internal Medicine, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, WV 25701, United States. onyinyeugonabo99x@gmail.com., Malik SU; Department of Cardiology, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA 17821, United States., Akbar UA; Department of Internal Medicine, West Virginia University-Camden Clark Medical Center, Parkersburg, WV 26101, United States., Zamani Z; Department of Internal Medicine, Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood, CA 90301, United States., Frandah W; Department of Gastroenterology, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Huntington, WV 25701, United States.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	World journal of methodology [World J Methodol] 2023 Sep 20; Vol. 13 (4), pp. 337-344. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Sep 20 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI:	10.5662/wjm.v13.i4.337
Abstrakt:	Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic unleashed a flood of untrustworthy information on social media platforms, resulting in the unfortunate consequence of expert scientists' opinions getting lost amidst the chaotic sea of misinformation. The question of how much influence these esteemed scientists hold on social media platforms remains elusive. To address this scientific quandary, we sought to explore the concept of the Kardashian index (K-index), a term introduced by Hall in 2014. This metric provides a rudimentary means of evaluating whether a physician scientist's popularity on social media aligns with their significant scientific contributions. Aim: To evaluate if a Gastroenterologist physician's popularity on social media is at par with their scientific contributions (research articles and publications). Methods: We conducted an extensive search to identify all gastroenterologists actively practicing and associated with the top 100 hospitals as reported by the United States News. We collected specific data on a sub-group including their names, affiliations, degrees, and sub-specializations. To gauge their social media popularity, we utilized the K-index calculation which is determined by dividing the actual number of Twitter followers by the number of researcher's citations. The expected number of followers (F) is calculated using the formula F = 43.3 C ^ 0.32, where C represents the number of citations. Results: Physicians affiliated with the Mayo Clinic emerged as the most prominent presence on Twitter, constituting 16% of the total. They were followed closely by physicians from Mount Sinai Hospital (9%) and the University of Michigan Hospital (9%). Surprisingly, 76% of the physicians evaluated exhibited a low K-index, falling within the range of 0 to less than 2. This suggests that a significant number of highly influential physician-scientists are not receiving due recognition, as indicated by their relatively low number of followers. On the other hand, 24% of the physicians had an inflated K-index, exceeding 5, which positioned them as the "Kardashians". These individuals enjoyed greater social media popularity than their actual scientific contributions. Interestingly, our analysis revealed no discernible association between sex and K-index ( P value of 0.92). Conclusion: In the gastroenterology field, our study estimated that a majority (76%) of highly researched physicians are undervalued despite their significant scientific contributions. Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: None to disclose. (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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