The impact of large oncology meetings (#ASCO, #AACR, #ASH) and health equity hashtags (#DEI+) on social media engagement.

e23008 Background: Social media has revolutionized scientific communication to extend engagement beyond peer-reviewed publications and traditional media channels. Hashtags (#) promote awareness of key topics and enable tracking of social media engagement (Katz et al. JAMA Oncol. 2016;2(3):392-4). We evaluated the utilization of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (#DEI) hashtags around large oncology meetings to describe the trends of DEI-focused social media conversations. Methods: Using Symplur Signals healthcare analytics on Twitter data, 5 dashboards with # datasets (#ASCO 18-22, #AACR 18-22, #ASH 18-22, #ASHDEI) were analyzed over 2018–2022. Data were then refined by content word filters (most used DEI hashtags: #cancerdisparities, #healthdisparities, #healthequity). Utilizing proprietary natural language processing combined with artificial intelligence, the Netbase Quid platform used a Boolean algorithm to collect ASCO DEI social media data (Twitter and others) to identify discussion themes between January 2021 – January 2023. Results: Use of the ASCO hashtag resulted in high and relatively stable social media activity from 2018-2022 (Table). In contrast, a major decline in both the DEI and DEI+ASCO hashtags occurred in 2022 after the peak in 2021 (Table). The peak use of DEI hashtags coincided with sentinel events in the US, including the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and subsequent public protests. However, DEI conversations made up only 2% of ASCO’s social media conversations and accounted for far less for American Society of Hematology (ASH) and American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Table). Although smaller in number, AACR hashtags (#AACR, +DEI hashtags) were stable in 2021-22 compared with ASCO and ASH, coinciding with a dedicated conference focus on DEI topics during the AACR meeting. Conclusions: In general, oncology-associated Twitter activity appeared to be less frequent, possibly due to inconsistent use of DEI hashtags. To generate consistent and searchable DEI social media activity—and to communicate the outcomes of DEI initiatives—the oncology community should develop a lexicon of DEI hashtags. [Table: see text]