Gender Differences in Professional Social Networks Use Among Critical Care Researchers

Abstract

Background: Recent studies highlight that women anesthesiology researchers have lower visibility on professional social networks (PSN) than men. The objective of this work was to compare the use of PSN between women and men in critical care research. Methods: We included the first/last authors (FA/LA) among the most frequently cited articles in 2018 and 2019 in three critical care journals (Intensive Care Medicine, Critical Care Medicine and Critical Care). We compared the use of three PSN Twitter, ResearchGate and LinkedIn between women and men in the FA/LA positions. Results: We analyzed 494 articles, which allowed us to include 426 FA and 383 LA. The use of PSN was similar between women and men (Twitter: 35 vs. 31% FA p=0.76, 38 vs. 31% LA p=0.24; ResearchGate: 60 vs. 70% FA p=0.06, 67 vs. 66% LA p=0.95; LinkedIn: 54 vs. 56 % FA p=0.25, 68 vs. 64% LA p=0.58; respectively). On ResearchGate, women had a lower reputation score (FA group 26.4 [19.5 – 31.5] vs. 34.8 [27.4 – 41.6], p < 0.01; LA group 38.5 [30.9 – 43.7] vs. 42.3 [37.6 – 46.4], p < 0.01) and fewer followers (FA group 28.5 [19–45] vs. 68.5 [72,5–657] p<0.01; LA group 96.5 [43,8–258] vs. 178 [76.3–313.5] p=0.02). Women researchers were FA in 30% of the articles, and LA in 16%. Conclusion: In the field of critical care, the visibility of female researchers on the social networks dedicated to scientific research is lower than that of male researchers.

Keywords: critical care, gender, women, social media, social network, medical research.