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arXiv · 2509.09622

AskDoc -- Identifying Hidden Healthcare Disparities

Shashank Gupta
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Abstract

The objective of this study is to understand the online Ask the Doctor services medical advice on internet platforms via AskDoc, a Reddit community that serves as a public AtD platform and study if platforms mirror existing hurdles and partiality in healthcare across various demographic groups. We downloaded data from January 2020 to May 2022 from AskDoc -- a subreddit, and created regular expressions to identify self-reported demographics (Gender, Race, and Age) from the posts, and performed statistical analysis to understand the interaction between peers and physicians with the posters. Half of the posts did not receive comments from peers or physicians. At least 90% of the people disclose their gender and age, and 80% of the people do not disclose their race. It was observed that the subreddit is dominated by adult (age group 20-39) white males. Some disparities were observed in the engagement between the users and the posters with certain demographics. Beyond the confines of clinics and hospitals, social media could bring patients and providers closer together, however, as observed, current physicians participation is low compared to posters.

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Shashank Gupta. 2025-09-11. AskDoc -- Identifying Hidden Healthcare Disparities. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.09622

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