Gender and Racial Diversity in Relation to Publication Rates at the Canadian Association of Radiology Annual Scientific Meetings 2016 to 2019

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the overall rate of publication of abstracts presented at the 2016 to 2019 Canadian Association of Radiology Annual Scientific Meeting (CAR ASM), with an emphasis on gender and racial diversity. Methods: Abstracts from publicly available past programs were analyzed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar for publication status, time to publication (TTP), author affiliation, and journal of publication. Past programs were used to determine the abstract format, abstract category, and the subspecialty and imaging modalities explored. First author demographics were identified using the Namsor software. Results: Four hundred and sixty-two abstract presentations were included in the analysis with an overall conversion rate of 34.63%. Two hundred and ninety-two (63.2%) of the first-authors were male-identified, of which 104 (35.62%) were published. In contrast, 170 (36.8%) were female-identified, of which 56 (32.94%) were published. Additionally, 50.87% first-authors were identified as white, 38.31% asian, 6.06% black, 4.76% latino, and 0.00% indigenous. While diversity was seen in demographics, 60% of publications had a white first-author. The following conversion rates were found: 40.85% white, 30.51% asian, 25% black, and 13.64% latino. In terms of abstract category, radiologist-in-training had the highest conversion rate at 60.71%. The median TTP was 14 months, with an average impact factor of 5.26. Conclusion: Less than half of abstracts at the 2016 to 2019 CAR ASM were published and both gender and racial disparities in relation to conversion rates were identified. Measures to improve publication rates and overall diversity in Radiology are warranted.