Ophthalmology in a virtual world: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on specialty conferences

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented cancellation or alteration of healthcare events and medical conferences around the world. Many ophthalmology conferences transitioned to virtual interfaces, and the impact of this transition on the ophthalmology community is unclear. The authors wish to objectively define the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on subspecialty ophthalmology conferences. Methods: This study included data from the following five ophthalmology conferences from 2019, 2020, and 2021, as available American Glaucoma Society (AGS), American Society of Ophthalmic and Plastic Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), and Women in Ophthalmology (WIO). Data requested from organizations included the following, as available Number of total conference attendees, number of attendees stratified by level of training, number of attendees stratified by identified gender, and number of research s or presentations (submitted and/or accepted). This study has been approved by the City University of New York Institutional Review Board. Results: In our study, 60% of organizations demonstrated an increase in number of attendees when using a virtual interface compared to their in-person events. 80% of organizations demonstrated a marked increase in attendance by trainees on their virtual interfaces. 60% of organizations displayed a decrease in number of submitted s when using a virtual interface. 40% of organizations experienced an increase in number of accepted posters and presentations through a virtual platform. Conclusions: Virtual conference interfaces have the potential to increase overall attendance and research participation within the ophthalmology community. Organizations should consider a hybrid model that incorporates aspects of both virtual and in-person interfaces to potentially maximize attendance, outreach, dissemination of information, opportunity, and minimize costs.