Availability of COVID-19 information from national plastic surgery society websites

Al-Benna, Sammy; Gohritz, Andreas

BACKGROUND: National plastic surgery society websites are an important source of information for patients, family members and healthcare professionals. There are currently no standardized recommendations for the information provided on websites. The aim of this study was to assess the information available on each national plastic surgery society websites on the current pandemic of COVID-19. METHODS: A Google search was performed of United Nations member sovereign states to determine whether they had a national plastic surgery society website and to assess its contents. The presence of COVID-19 information was recorded. Access to contact information, Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram handles were noted. RESULTS: 35% of sovereign states had plastic surgery society websites. 22% of national society websites had a specific COVID-19 section. 14/15 (93%) of these websites had COVID-19-specific guidelines available for health care professionals. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 information provided by national plastic surgery society websites is sparse. Two-thirds of national plastic surgery societies do not have a web presence. The availability of COVID-19 clinical guidelines and patient information sheets on national plastic surgery society websites is limited. This study suggests that improvement and increase in COVID-19 information provided by many national plastic surgery society websites is needed.