Future healthcare providers and professionalism on social media: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, social media have become central in the daily lives of people, including healthcare professionals. Fears arise that the accelerated growth of these social platforms was not accompanied by the appropriate training of the healthcare students and workers on the professional use of social media. This study primarily aimed to assess the awareness of the healthcare students at Beirut Arab University, Lebanon on the professional standards of social media. It also aimed to assess the presence of differences in the practices and attitudes of healthcare students according to gender and major. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was designed, and a paper-based questionnaire was distributed to healthcare students. Chi-Square test was used to analyse certain findings. RESULTS: Out of 1800 students approached, 496 participated in the questionnaire. All participants used social media. Only 19.5% (96/496) of them had received a structured education on the professional use of social media during their university study. The majority of students (349/488, 71.5%) thought that the professional standards on social media are distinct from those established in face-to-face interactions. Female students were more likely to get adequate answers in accordance with international guidelines. There were statistically significant differences in the practices and attitudes of students belonging to different majors (p value < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The line between what is professional on social media, and what is not, remains blurred for healthcare students. This study uncovered the need for clear and updated evidence-based guidelines assisting students in making the most appropriate decisions in the various online scenarios faced in healthcare practice.

Health seeking behaviour among Lebanese population: A highlight on seeking care from pharmacists.

BACKGROUND: Understanding health-seeking behaviour could significantly reduce the impact of illness on patients' lives. Fragmentation of the Lebanese healthcare system and presence of variability in socio-economic factors have affected some aspects of the Lebanese population's overall health seeking behaviour. One of these aspects is seeking diagnosis from pharmacists, which is prohibited by the Lebanese law but reinforced by the absence of supervision of concerned authorities. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the Lebanese population's knowledge, attitude, and practice towards seeking health care from pharmacists, exploring particularly the practice of seeking diagnosis from pharmacists. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by surveying a convenient sample of 493 participants across the eight governorates of Lebanon between July and October 2016. A self-administered questionnaire was used. Questions assessed the health care seeking behaviour of the participants. RESULTS: Two-thirds of the study participants (63.9%) did not have a general practitioner whom they visit regularly. Nearly half of the participants (48.9%) reported seeking diagnosis from pharmacists. Noteworthy, seeking diagnosis from pharmacists' behaviour declined significantly with having a general practitioner visited regularly. More than half of participants (59.5%) believed that dealing with emergencies is among the pharmacists' duties. In addition, 62.8% perceived that pharmacists are 'often/always' capable of managing common complaints. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that a significant proportion of the Lebanese population seek a diagnosis from pharmacists and a significant proportion of them have a misconception about the role of pharmacists in the Lebanese healthcare system.

Interprofessional Communication of Physicians Using WhatsApp: Physicians' Perspective.

Background: Interprofessional communication using Facebook®, Snapchat®, Instagram®, and WhatsApp® has become a reality that is shaping our future. However, studies evaluating the dimensions of this use in the medical field are scarce and proper guidelines have not yet been established. This highlights the importance of exploring the wide range of using such common communication tools in the medical field. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of WhatsApp use as an interprofessional communication tool among Lebanese physicians and explore the dimensions of its use. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by using LimeSurvey through an e-mail-based questionnaire sent to 5,329 physicians enrolled in the Lebanese Order of Physicians. Results: Four hundred twenty-nine physicians completed the survey with a response rate of 8%. Most respondents (96.5%) were WhatsApp users, where 72.7% stated being consulted by colleagues via WhatsApp, and about 50% reported being members of professional WhatsApp groups that mainly share medical cases and patients' updates. Further, most physicians made sure that the shared information contained no patient identifier and kept it for future referencing without the patient's permission or consent before consulting their colleagues. Almost 75% of the respondents agreed that guidelines are needed to illustrate the medico-legal and ethical aspects of WhatsApp use by physicians and recommended using WhatsApp specifically for inter-physician communication. Conclusion: The findings of this study illustrate the high prevalence of WhatsApp Messenger use among Lebanese physicians. Utilizing such digital platforms is highly demanded to enhance interprofessional communication between physicians in the medical field.