Awareness and Perception of Plastic Surgery among Healthcare Professionals in Pune, India: Do They Really Know What We Do?

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this study is to understand the level of awareness and knowledge of plastic surgery in healthcare professionals in a tertiary health care facility in Pune, India. This study also aims to highlight the perception of the medical professionals about plastic surgery and what they think a plastic surgeon does. Materials and Methods. A questionnaire-based survey was done at B.J Medical College and Sassoon Hospital, Pune in 2011. Feedback evaluation forms from hundred resident doctors and faculty were evaluated and analyzed. Results. There is not much awareness about plastic surgery as a specialty amongst health care providers. Plastic surgery is mostly perceived as cosmetic surgery, and the other spectrum of the patients we cater to goes largely unnoticed. Of all the clinical conditions given to the participants, there was not a single clinical condition where the respondents favored unanimously for plastic surgeons. Conclusion. Plastic surgery as a specialty is poorly understood by our medical colleagues, and the onus of creating and improving the awareness and perception of our specialty lies on us. Herculean unified efforts at individual as well as global level will help us achieve this goal.

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].…”