RS28 - The Measurable Impact of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Editor on Diversifying Content and Perspectives Represented in the Journal of Vascular Surgery

Objectives: Women and minorities remain underrepresented in academic vascular surgery. This underrepresentation persists in the editorial peer review process which may contribute to publication bias. In 2020, the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) addressed this by diversifying the editorial board and creating a new Editor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The impact of a DEI editor on modifying the output of JVS has not yet been examined. We sought to demonstrate the measurable impact of a DEI editor on diversifying perspectives represented in the journal, and on contributing to changes in the presence of DEI subject matter across published journal content.

Methods: Authorship and content of published scientific manuscripts, editorials, and special articles in JVS were examined from November 2019 through January 2022. Publications were examined for the year prior to initiation of the DEI Editor (November 2019-October 2020,‘pre’), the year following (November 2020-October2021,‘post’), and from September 2021 to present, accounting for the average 47-week time period from submission to publication in JVS (‘lag’). Presence of DEI topics and women authorship were compared using Chi-squared tests.

Results: During the period examined, the number of editorials, guidelines, and other special articles dedicated to DEI topics in the vascular surgery workforce or patient population increased from zero in the year prior to 3 (20%) in the year following appointment of a DEI editor. This ‘post’ increase was more pronounced when considering supplemental publications (n=19 (55%), p< 0.001), though decreased during the ‘lag’ (n=2 (16.7%)). (Fig 1) The number of editorials, guidelines, and other special articles with women as first or senior authors trended upward (24% pre, 40% post, 58.3% lag, p=0.14). Invited commentaries and discussions were increasingly written by women as the study period progressed (11% pre, 25.9% post, 47.1% lag, p=0.002). (Fig 2) Finally, the number of scientific manuscripts dedicated to DEI topics increased (5.4% pre, 3.1% post, 8.4% lag, p=0.01). Scientific manuscripts written on DEI topics were more likely to have women first or senior authors than non-DEI specific scientific manuscripts (69.4% of all DEI vs 37.5% of a random sampling of non-DEI, p< 0.001).

Conclusions: The addition of a DEI Editor to JVS has significantly impacted the diversification of topics and perspectives represented when assessing content and authorship of editorials, special articles, invited commentaries, and scientific manuscripts. Ongoing efforts are needed to impact diversification of subject matter and perspective in the vascular surgery literature and reduce publication bias.