Revolutionizing global hematology-oncology education: Assessing the two-year impact of a digital platform on socioeconomic equity and inclusivity against gender disparities.

Yan Leyfman Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau, Oceanside, NY info_outline Yan Leyfman, William B. Wilkerson, Viviana Cortiana, Jade Gambill, Gayathri P. Menon, Muskan Joshi, Elizabeth Jean Heller, Keira Smith, Helena S. Coloma, Maduri Balasubramanian, Emad B. Zahid, Alexandra Van de Kieft, Harshal Chorya, Rabab H. Abbas, Jenna Fadi Ghazal, Blaise Bowers, Ahmed Azeez, Chandler H. Park

Authors Yan Leyfman Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau, Oceanside, NY info_outline Yan Leyfman, William B. Wilkerson, Viviana Cortiana, Jade Gambill, Gayathri P. Menon, Muskan Joshi, Elizabeth Jean Heller, Keira Smith, Helena S. Coloma, Maduri Balasubramanian, Emad B. Zahid, Alexandra Van de Kieft, Harshal Chorya, Rabab H. Abbas, Jenna Fadi Ghazal, Blaise Bowers, Ahmed Azeez, Chandler H. Park Organizations Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau, Oceanside, NY, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, Parker University, Dallas, TX, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia, i3 Health, Rochelle Park, NJ, Oncology Data Advisor, Rochelle Park, NJ, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Baroda Medical College, Baroda, India, Kalamazoo Valley Community College & Mattawan High School, Kalamazoo, MI, Legacy High School, Broomfield, CO, Norton Cancer Institute, Louisville, KY Abstract Disclosures Research Funding No funding sources reported Background: Social media has transformed the global exchange of knowledge, with 77.4% of cancer patients relying on it as a primary source of information especially in resource-limited areas. Given that a third of social media posts contain misinformation that can have negative ramifications, MedNews Week (MNW) was developed as a digital platform featuring presentations by global authorities to enhance global oncology education through its freely accessible programming. In light of the gender disparity in speakers at scientific symposia, where females represent <30%, MNW strived to combat gender inequity by featuring them in equal proportion to males. The goal of this study was to evaluate the ability of MNW ’s virtual oncology education platform to combat socioeconomic (SE) education inequity while promoting gender inclusivity. Methods: From January 2022 to 2024, MNW hosted 36 distinguished global oncology leaders as Keynote Speakers (Mean H-index=50.09). Data on viewership and outreach were collected from MNW 's social media accounts. A mixed-method approach was employed to determine audience and speaker demographics, and engagement. Results: MNW achieved a Healthcare Social Score amongst the top 0.07 percentile of global healthcare influencers on Twitter. Over the past year, MNW oncology programming experienced a 10.5-fold increase in mean attendance, reaching 743,991 people in 95 countries globally, with 23 classified as low-to-middle SE status. In 2023, MNW followers exhibited a female predominance (48.8%), mainly from non-healthcare fields (60.0%). MNW showcased gender parity among oncology keynote speakers, with female lecturers drawing similar attendance as males (p=0.89, two-tailed unpaired t-test). Conclusions: MNW has established a growing digital platform, while removing financial barriers to effectively engage lay audiences, particularly in underserved regions. MNW's commitment to empowering female speakers exemplifies its dedication to inclusivity in a historically imbalanced field. This underscores MNW's success in fostering inclusivity, by driving engagement of those traditionally underserved, and positively impacting oncology education globally. N(%) Category Sub-category 2022 2023 Gender of Followers M F Non-profit Org. 854(41.3%) 990(48.0%) 220(10.7%) 2,410(42.2%) 2,089(48.8%) 444 (9.0%) Follower Occupation Healthcare Arts Business Education Other 609(26.6%) 688(30.0%) 212 (9.2%) 322(14.0%) 233(20.2%) 1,961(40.0%) 783(16.0%) 699(14.3%) 532(10.9%) 969(18.8%) Keynote Topic Blood cancers Solid tumors 5(22%) 18(78%) 7(50%) 7(50%) Speaker Gender M F 15 3 7 7 Mean Attendance by Speaker Gender M F 4,493 7,798 52,274 54,011 Countries Reached Middle/Low HDI High HDI 16(28.1%) 41(71.9%) 23(24.3%) 72(75.7%) Attendance 90,786 743,991 M-Male; F-Female; HDI-Human Development Index.