Public Interest in Cosmetic Surgical and Minimally Invasive Plastic Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiology Study of Twitter Data.
J Med Internet Res
; 23(3): e23970, 2021 03 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1140614
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has brought drastic changes to the field of plastic surgery. It is critical for stakeholders in this field to identify the changes in public interest in plastic procedures to be adequately prepared to meet the challenges of the pandemic.OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study is to examine tweets related to the public interest in plastic procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic and to help stakeholders in the field of plastic surgery adjust their practices and sustain their operations during the current difficult situation of the pandemic.METHODS:
Using a web crawler, 73,963 publicly accessible tweets about the most common cosmetic surgical and minimally invasive plastic procedures were collected. The tweets were grouped into three phases, and the tweeting frequencies and Google Trends indices were examined. Tweeting frequency, sentiment, and word frequency analyses were performed with Python modules.RESULTS:
Tweeting frequency increased by 24.0% in phase 2 and decreased by 9.1% in phase 3. Tweets about breast augmentation, liposuction, and abdominoplasty ("tummy tuck") procedures consecutively increased over the three phases of the pandemic. Interest in Botox and chemical peel procedures revived first when the lockdown was lifted. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a negative impact on public sentiment about plastic procedures. The word frequency pattern significantly changed after phase 1 and then remained relatively stable.CONCLUSIONS:
According to Twitter data, the public maintained their interest in plastic procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stakeholders should consider refocusing on breast augmentation, liposuction, and abdominoplasty procedures during the current phase of the pandemic. In the case of a second wave of COVID-19, stakeholders should prepare for a temporary surge of Botox and chemical peel procedures.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures
/
Plastic Surgery Procedures
/
Social Media
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Med Internet Res
Journal subject:
Medical Informatics
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
23970
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS