The Big Data Awareness of Turkish Neurosurgeons: A National Survey

Objective: The term big data refers to high volumes of data that are difficult to store, process, and analyze through traditional database technologies. This paper aims to discover the big data knowledge and awareness of Turkish neurosurgeons. Methods: An online survey link was sent to all members of the Turkish Neurosurgical Society (n=1707 neurosurgeons) by e-mail. The survey, which was available during September and October 2021, was filled by 211 specialists (12.4%) neurosurgeons. Participants were scored based on the questions asked in “Big Data” and the scores were compared with baseline characteristics.There was no statistically significant correlation between baseline characteristics (age, gender, the residency/current institution, academic title, the presence of a Ph.D. degree, and professional specialist period) and survey score. The survey scores of the participants who used a big data platform, wrote code, thought that the use of big data was beneficial, and wanted to learn more about this subject were statistically significantly higher. Conclusions: Obtaining information about big data seems to be related only to personal interests. Necessary arrangements should be made in the training programs of neurosurgeons on this topic, which is gaining in popularity and provides useful information for daily clinical practice.