Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Division of Neurological Surgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona.
J Surg Educ. 2018 Nov;75(6):1615-1623. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.05.001. Epub 2018 Jun 20.
The Neurosurgical Atlas is a popular world-wide multimedia website in neurosurgery with informative chapters and videos to promote excellence and safety in neurosurgical techniques. Here, we present our analysis of the viewing data of this website. This is intended to describe how online neurosurgical resources are being utilized by today's neurosurgical community. We hope this will be a useful guide for neurosurgeons interested in online multimedia education.
DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: We analyzed Google Analytics and Vimeo data collected from The Neurosurgical Atlas between June 2016 and August 2017, which tracked user demographics, geographical location, and the videos watched. Views were also analyzed categorically by dividing videos into 6 neurosurgical topics and into basic and advanced levels as per their surgical complexity.
During the study period, there were 246,259 website visits and 143,868 video plays. The most frequent age group seen was 25 to 34 (44%), followed by 35 to 44 (24%), and 71% of visitors were male. Most website visits were from the United States (29.52%) followed by Brazil (6.43%). There was a steady increase in website visits and video plays over time, with multiple peaks corresponding to promotional email updates. The 6 neurosurgical topics were all similarly popular in video plays, with the general neurosurgical topics being slightly preferred. Similarly, basic and advanced topics were both viewed frequently, with a slight preference for the basic topics.
Our study presents the first piece of evidence demonstrating the feasibility and popularity of a free online resource in neurosurgical education. Our experience highlights the growing demand for free-access online chapters, anatomical illustrations, and operative videos. This initiative should not stop with The Neurosurgical Atlas; other surgeons should feel encouraged to employ similar methods to disseminate and advance surgical education.
《神经外科学图谱》是一个全球知名的神经外科学多媒体网站，拥有丰富的章节和视频，旨在促进神经外科学技术的卓越和安全。在此，我们对该网站的浏览数据进行分析。本研究旨在描述当今神经外科学领域如何利用在线神经外科学资源。我们希望这能为对在线多媒体教育感兴趣的神经外科医生提供有用的指导。
设计/设置/参与者：我们分析了 2016 年 6 月至 2017 年 8 月期间《神经外科学图谱》在谷歌分析和 Vimeo 上收集的数据，这些数据跟踪了用户的人口统计学信息、地理位置和观看的视频。我们还根据视频的手术复杂性，将视频分为 6 个神经外科学主题和基础与高级两个类别进行分类分析。
在研究期间，该网站的访问量为 246259 次，视频播放量为 143868 次。最常见的年龄组是 25 至 34 岁（44%），其次是 35 至 44 岁（24%），71%的访问者为男性。访问量最大的国家是美国（29.52%），其次是巴西（6.43%）。随着时间的推移，网站访问量和视频播放量稳步增加，与宣传电子邮件更新相对应的出现了多个高峰。6 个神经外科学主题在视频播放量上都同样受欢迎，一般神经外科学主题略受欢迎。同样，基础和高级主题的浏览量都很高，基础主题略受欢迎。
我们的研究首次提供了神经外科学教育中免费在线资源可行性和受欢迎程度的证据。我们的经验强调了对免费在线章节、解剖插图和手术视频的需求不断增长。这项举措不应止步于《神经外科学图谱》；其他外科医生应该受到鼓励，采用类似的方法来传播和推进外科学教育。
