Motivations, barriers, and social media: a qualitative study of uptake of women into neurosurgery

Abstract

Objective

To explore how social media could be utilised to influence an individual’s motivation to pursue a neurosurgical career, an emerging topic area. The focus of this study was on women interested in neurosurgery.

Summary background data

Women are significantly under-represented in neurosurgery. 18% of all neurosurgeons – including 8% of consultants – are women. Most previous studies have used quantitative methods that are not best suited to gaining an in-depth understanding of the barriers that women face in pursuing a career in neurosurgery, or what would enable more women to go into the speciality.

Methods

In this qualitative study, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation was achieved. Participants were women pre-neurosurgical trainees. The interview data was examined through a thematic analysis involving open and axial coding.

Results

Thirty women participated in the study. Four overarching themes were identified: (1) mentorship, (2) testimony from other women doing neurosurgery, (3) social media as a means of increasing interest in neurosurgery as a career choice, and (4) real-life exposure to the speciality.

Conclusion

There is scope to further improve uptake of women into neurosurgical training in the UK. Motivations and barriers to women pursuing neurosurgery should be addressed openly through early experience, role models and mentorship. Social media can help facilitate these opportunities, disseminate information and inspiration, and has the potential to undo societal biases.

Keywords:

• Neurosurgery;
• women;
• social media;
• barriers;
• motivations

Acknowledgements

Niamh Hardcastle, Tsz Lun, Allenis Mak, Caroline Scott, Chelsea Chan, Sanskrithi Sravanam, Hanya Ghazi, Abbey Boyle, Emily Bligh, Katharina Nagassima, Priya Sekhon, Suzanne Murphy, Guan Hui Tricia Lim, Katya Marks, Kelsi Taylor Melling, Alison Clarke, Dana Yijin Zou, Suet Yi Christy Pon, Mariam Awan, Hazel Sanghvi, Priyal Dagli, Lydia Salem Yosief, Jessica O'Logbon, Shavinthi W. Wadanamby, Melissa Gough, Lizkerry Odeh, Penny Wu, Laurel Moar, Shivani Jayasree, and Lauren Wilson on behalf of the NANSIG collaborative.

Ethical approval

This study received ethical approval by the University of Oxford Medical Sciences Inter-Divisional Research Ethics Committee (Ethics Approval Reference: R69007/RE001) on 27 April 2020.

Informed consent

All participants provided informed consent.

Consent for publication

All authors have approved the final manuscript and are willing to take responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Author contributions

SB conceived the project. SB, JM, and EJN contributed equally to the design of the project. SB, JM, EJN, and MH contribute equally to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work. SB, JM, EJN, MH, and KEAS contributed equally to the drafting of the manuscript. The manuscript was extensively reviewed by all members of the NANSIG collaborative.

Disclosure statement

SB, JM, and EJR are all members of the NANSIG steering committee. MH is a NANSIG regional lead. KEAS is supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.