Thematic and Demographic Analysis of Crowdsourcing Practices for Plastic Surgery

Abstract

Background 

In this study, we investigate the characterization of medical crowdsourcing on GoFundMe for plastic surgery procedures, with overall funds raised being the primary end point.

Hypothesis 

Certain demographic factors such as sex and race mentioned in campaign narratives are associated with the effectiveness of medical crowdfunding campaigns.

Methods 

Search terms were used to aggregate fundraising campaigns for plastic surgery medical procedures on GoFundMe. These studies were then stratified by demographics based on campaign text or author consensus, and were further subdivided into categories based on procedure type.

Results 

Men were found to have higher median shares than women—raising an average of $609 more than female counterparts (P < 0.05). Fundraising for themes such as lack of insurance, travel costs, lifesaving treatment, and end-of-life expenses were more successful than the theme of psychosocial effects of disease or social impairment. In addition, those that included a smiling picture of the recipient and those created by a friend/relative raised more funds. Although no significant difference was found in fundraising between demographics based on race, a majority (72.8%) of campaigners were White. Across ~2000 plastic surgery campaigns, a total of $10,186,687 were raised from these data.

Conclusions 

We identified both modifiable and nonmodifiable factors that influence success. These successful campaigns can serve as a learning opportunity for many who have been marginalized by the medical and pharmaceutical industry, and they demonstrate a promising area for demographic studies.