TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and Extent of Industry Funding to Program Directors Across Pediatric Surgical Specialties
AU - Silvestre, Jason
AU - Tippabhatla, Abhishek
AU - Yasinj, Belal
AU - Hosseinzadeh, Pooya
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - Introduction: Industry funding in surgical education offers benefits but presents conflicts of interest. This study defines the prevalence and extent of industry funding to fellowship program directors (FPDs) across pediatric surgical specialties. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of FPDs in pediatric surgical specialties. Data were amalgamated from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Characteristics of FPDs were obtained from academic websites and medical licensing boards. Personal industry payments from 2016 to 2022 were analyzed, and temporal trends were elucidated. Comparisons were made by year, surgical specialty, and control groups with nonparametric tests. Results: A total of 241 FPDs were identified, with 206 (85%) receiving industry payments over the study period. The specialties with the highest prevalence of industry funding to FPDs were pediatric orthopedic surgery (100%), pediatric urology (96%), and pediatric surgery (85%). Total industry payments aggregated to $7.3 million dollars with the majority awarded to pediatric orthopedic surgery (91%). Most industry payments were for royalties or licensing (57%) and consulting fees (31%). Median total industry payments per FPD differed between subspecialties (P < 0.001) and was highest in pediatric orthopedic surgery ($7009, interquartile range [IQR], $1771-$50,239) and lowest in pediatric otolaryngology ($116, IQR, $75-$1626). Male FPDs had higher median total industry payments than female FPDs ($1643, IQR, $172-$8731 versus $193, IQR, $84-$712, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Industry payments to FPDs in pediatric surgical specialties are highly prevalent, but the magnitude varies by specialty. Future work is needed to establish mechanisms that promote equitable partnerships between academia and industry for pediatric surgery training.
AB - Introduction: Industry funding in surgical education offers benefits but presents conflicts of interest. This study defines the prevalence and extent of industry funding to fellowship program directors (FPDs) across pediatric surgical specialties. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of FPDs in pediatric surgical specialties. Data were amalgamated from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Characteristics of FPDs were obtained from academic websites and medical licensing boards. Personal industry payments from 2016 to 2022 were analyzed, and temporal trends were elucidated. Comparisons were made by year, surgical specialty, and control groups with nonparametric tests. Results: A total of 241 FPDs were identified, with 206 (85%) receiving industry payments over the study period. The specialties with the highest prevalence of industry funding to FPDs were pediatric orthopedic surgery (100%), pediatric urology (96%), and pediatric surgery (85%). Total industry payments aggregated to $7.3 million dollars with the majority awarded to pediatric orthopedic surgery (91%). Most industry payments were for royalties or licensing (57%) and consulting fees (31%). Median total industry payments per FPD differed between subspecialties (P < 0.001) and was highest in pediatric orthopedic surgery ($7009, interquartile range [IQR], $1771-$50,239) and lowest in pediatric otolaryngology ($116, IQR, $75-$1626). Male FPDs had higher median total industry payments than female FPDs ($1643, IQR, $172-$8731 versus $193, IQR, $84-$712, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Industry payments to FPDs in pediatric surgical specialties are highly prevalent, but the magnitude varies by specialty. Future work is needed to establish mechanisms that promote equitable partnerships between academia and industry for pediatric surgery training.
KW - Fellowship
KW - Funding
KW - Industry
KW - Pediatric
KW - Program director
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85207015770&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jss.2024.09.073
DO - 10.1016/j.jss.2024.09.073
M3 - Article
C2 - 39447477
AN - SCOPUS:85207015770
SN - 0022-4804
VL - 303
SP - 685
EP - 690
JO - Journal of Surgical Research
JF - Journal of Surgical Research
ER -