Evaluation of QR code use in in-person versus virtual congresses for posters in the COVID-19 era: are we reaching our audiences?

Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific congresses have moved from in-person to a fully virtual setting. We evaluated whether QR code metrics may provide insight into the reach of congress poster presentations in the virtual vs in-person setting, specifically posters pertaining to rare diseases in Hematology, Immunology, and Transplantation. Research design and methods: QR download metrics (via browser, email or SMS) for global Takeda-sponsored posters at select scientific congresses were obtained from the Takeda congress website. QR metrics were evaluated for two time periods: (1) pre- COVID period (January 2019-February 2020) and (2) COVID period (March-December 2020). The transition to the virtual setting during the COVID-19 pandemic was evaluated and QR metrics for each congress that switched from the in-person to virtual setting compared. Results: Database searching identified 193 posters at 54 in-person congresses (all of which were prior to 28 February 2020) and 67 posters at 27 virtual congresses (all after 1 March 2020). QR data were available for both the 2019 in-person and the 2020 virtual format for 17 congresses: posters presented in-person generated on average 2.4-fold greater QR code downloads (805 downloads/ 78 posters;mean 10.3 per poster) than virtual posters (222/52;mean 4.3 per poster). Conclusions: Our findings provide insights into the current complex scientific communication environment, where congresses in 2020 have switched to a virtual setting or been cancelled/ postponed, impacting the reach to audience. As virtual scientific congresses have become the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, QR codes are one tool that may provide a better understanding of the reach of poster presentations.