Brief Report: Precision Language and Deletion of the "S" Word

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Oncology
• Medical Communication
• Linguistic Stigma

Background:

• The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) released a Language Guide in 2021 to promote respectful communication.
• Stigmatizing language, such as the term "smoker," can negatively impact patient care and research.
• Adoption of non-stigmatizing language is crucial for fostering inclusivity in thoracic oncology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the adoption rate of the IASLC Language Guide's recommendations.
• To assess the use of non-stigmatizing language in presentations at the 2022 IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).
• To identify correlations between presenter characteristics and the use of non-stigmatizing language.

Main Methods:

• Downloaded 522 slide presentations from the 2022 WCLC conference.
• Analyzed presentations for discussions of tobacco use and the term "smoker."
• Gathered presenter data including continent, sex, specialty, and degree.

Main Results:

• Out of 177 presentations discussing smoking status, 77 (43.5%) used non-stigmatizing language.
• 100 presenters (56.5%) continued to use the stigmatizing term "smoker."
• Male MDs, female PhDs, non-medicine subspecialists, and advocates were more likely to use non-stigmatizing language.

Conclusions:

• Over one-third of presenters adopted non-stigmatizing language within one year of the Language Guide's release.
• This indicates progress toward more respectful communication in thoracic oncology.
• Further efforts are needed to ensure widespread adoption of inclusive language.