Abstract
Background: Although treatments to address cosmetic concerns are common, patients’ self-reported motives for considering such procedures have not been systematically explored. Objective: To develop a framework of categories to describe patients' self-reported motivations for undergoing minimally invasive cosmetic procedures. Methods: Face-to-face, semistructured patient interviews were conducted with adult participants who had undergone or were considering minimally invasive cosmetic dermatologic procedures. A qualitative constant comparative approach was used to analyze interview transcripts, yielding themes and subthemes. Results: A total of 30 interviews were completed. Most patient-reported motivations for cosmetic procedures could be subsumed under 8 general categories (themes): (1) mental and emotional health, (2) cosmetic appearance, (3) physical health, (4) work and/or school success, (5) social well-being, (6) cost and/or convenience, (7) procedural perceptions, and (8) timing of treatment. Many individual motivations in these categories were unrelated to desire for physical beauty. In particular, participants wanted to avoid being self-conscious, enhance confidence, reduce the time and expense required to conceal physical imperfections, and be perceived as capable at work. Limitations: Only English-speaking patients in the United States were interviewed. Conclusion: Patient-reported motivations for cosmetic procedures mostly pertained to physical and psychosocial well-being. Indeed, a desire for improved cosmetic appearance was only 1 of the 8 themes revealed through the patient interviews.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1671-1681 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2019 |
Keywords
- affect
- appearance
- believe
- cosmetic
- emotion
- interview
- motivations
- patient
- patient-reported
- procedures
- qualitative
- quality of life
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Dermatology