Public perception of the field of plastic surgery

Abstract

The general public's understanding of plastic surgery is poor. This may be linked to the misunderstanding of specialist titles and lack of education regarding this field.

Public Perceptions of Plastic Surgery Practice in Brazil

“…In addition, "no plastic surgeon" was significantly more recognized as an expert in different general/reconstructive-related scenarios. These findings demonstrated that the broad scope of plastic surgery practice is poorly recognized and widespread among the Brazilian public, similar to previously described trends in surveys [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] of medical students, medical residents, nurses, and primary care physicians, among others.…”

“…However, analyses performed on each scenario showed that plastic surgeon was primarily recognized as an expert in aesthetic-related scenarios and less identified in fundamental interventions for plastic surgery as a broad-based medical specialty, mirroring previous data [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. In addition, "no plastic surgeon" was significantly more recognized as an expert in different general/reconstructive-related scenarios.…”

“…In the present investigation, we also sought to statistically correlate independent variables with the public's response of plastic surgeon, as it has not been fully investigated [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Our multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender (male), age (18-30 and 46-95 years), health-care professional, education level (high school education and higher), and prior plastic surgery contact were significant predictors of selecting plastic surgeon as experts.…”

“…An anonymous, written survey with closed-ended questions was adapted from previous reports [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. In the first part of the survey, respondents were asked to select one or two of nine specialists (ophthalmologist, dermatologist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, general surgeon, orthopedic surgeon, plastic surgeon, otolaryngologist, neurosurgeon, or head and neck surgeon) that they perceived to be an expert in each question composed by 28 scenarios within the broad scope of the plastic surgery practice.…”

“…In this context, several surveys [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] have demonstrated limited understanding and misperceptions of the field of plastic surgery practice among medical and nonmedical communities worldwide. The establishment of the public's knowledge and perception of plastic surgeons may support clinical care, health policy decisions, payer policies, research funding allocation, and educational efforts aimed to inform the public regarding plastic surgeons' expertise and contributions to health care [4-7, 10, 14, 16, 17].…”