&lt;p&gt;Frequency of Use, Perceptions and Barriers of Information and Communication Technologies Among Latin American Physicians: An Ecuadorian Cross-Sectional Study&lt;/p&gt;

Chérrez-Ojeda, Iván; Vanegas, Emanuel; Félix, Miguel; Mata, Valeria L.; Jiménez, Fanny; Sanchez, Mabel; Simancas‐Racines, Daniel; Chérrez, Sofía; Gavilanes, Antonio W. D.; Eschrich, Johannes; Chedraui, Peter

doi:10.2147/jmdh.s246253

Cited by 24 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In conclusion, our study found a high use of ICTs among Ecuadorian dentists, a finding that compares to previous reports among physicians and nurses in the country [13,31]. But despite the potential benefits of these technologies, there are many barriers and factors that need to be accounted when implementing ICTs.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 47%

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The use of information and communication technologies in Latin American dentists: a cross-sectional study from Ecuador

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Background: The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide the tools for enabling fast and reliable real-time communications, as well as the transfer of information between dental professionals and their patients. However, little is known about the frequency and preference of ICTs among Latin-American dentists. Our study aims to fill this gap by assessing different aspects related to ICTs, mainly the frequency of use, perceptions, and barriers among Ecuadorian dentists. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among 342 Ecuadorian dentists. The final questionnaire included 13 items related to the frequency of use, perceptions, and barriers of ICTs. Bivariate analysis was performed by using chi-squared testing to explore the association between the independent variables and the intended use of ICTs, as well as to characterize the perceptions and barriers related to ICTs. Results: In general, most participants reported the use of ICTs to communicate with colleagues (99.7%), and patients (96.2%), while only 63.5% reported using ICTs to obtain academic information in their daily practice. WhatsApp was rated as the most used ICT for communicating with colleagues and patients. A majority of participants considered that ICTs can be useful for facilitating continuing dental education (92.1%), searching new work opportunities (91.5%), promoting health (90.1%), working with colleagues and other health professionals (91.2%), promoting their professional services (90.6%), and for resolving clinical cases (87.7%). On the subject of barriers, privacy and security concerns about personal and/or patient information was the biggest concern among dentists (65%), followed by lack of time to learn how to use and/or use ICTs (48%), lack of mobile internet access (28.1%), and lack of internet access at work (24.9%). Conclusion: In our study, we found that Ecuadorian dentists had a high usage rate of ICTs, mainly for communicating with other colleagues and patients, while the academic use of technology remains a comparatively underused application. Most of the participants surveyed had a positive perception towards ICTs, while privacy and security concerns were identified as the main barrier. Older age was associated with a less favourable perception toward ICTs, as well as an increased likelihood of reporting barriers related to the use of technology.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 47%

“…An anonymous, cross-sectional survey-based study was completed by 342 Ecuadorian dentists. We adapted the questionnaire from a previous survey used in physicians [13]. The questionnaire surveyed demographic characteristics and recorded the frequency of use, perceptions and barriers of ICTs using a 5-point Likert scale.…”

Section: Study Design and Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of information and communication technologies in Latin American dentists: a cross-sectional study from Ecuador

et al. 2020

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 44%

The use of information and communication technologies in Latin American dentists: A Cross-Sectional Study from Ecuador

Chérrez-Ojeda¹,

Vera-Paz²,

Vanegas

et al. 2020

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Background: The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide the tools for enabling fast and reliable real-time communications, as well as the transfer of information between dental professionals and their patients. However, little is known about the frequency and preference of ICTs among Latin-American dentists. Our study aims to fill this gap by assessing different aspects related to ICTs, mainly the frequency of use, perceptions, and barriers among Ecuadorian dentists. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among 342 Ecuadorian dentists. The final questionnaire included 13 items related to the frequency of use, perceptions, and barriers of ICTs. Bivariate analysis was performed by using chi-squared testing to explore the association between the independent variables and the intended use of ICTs, as well as to characterize the perceptions and barriers related to ICTs. Results: In general, most participants reported the use of ICTs to communicate with colleagues (99.7%), and patients (96.2%), while only 63.5% reported using ICTs to obtain academic information in their daily practice. WhatsApp was rated as the most used ICT for communicating with colleagues and patients. A majority of participants considered that ICTs can be useful for facilitating continuing dental education (92.1%), searching new work opportunities (91.5%), promoting health (90.1%), working with colleagues and other health professionals (91.2%), promoting their professional services (90.6%), and for resolving clinical cases (87.7%). On the subject of barriers, privacy and security concerns about personal and/or patient information was the biggest concern among dentists (65%), followed by lack of time to learn how to use and/or use ICTs (48%), lack of mobile internet access (28.1%), and lack of internet access at work (24.9%). Conclusion: In our study, we found that Ecuadorian dentists had a high usage rate of ICTs, mainly for communicating with other colleagues and patients, while the academic use of technology remains a comparatively underused application. Most participants had a positive perception towards ICTs, while privacy and security concerns were identified as the main barrier. Older age was associated with a less favourable perception as well as an increased likelihood of reporting barriers related to the use of technology.

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“…An anonymous, cross-sectional survey-based study was completed by 342 Ecuadorian dentists. We adapted the questionnaire from a previous survey used in physicians (8). The questionnaire surveyed demographic characteristics and recorded the frequency of use, perceptions and barriers of ICTs using a 5-point Likert scale.…”

Section: Materials and Methods Study Design And Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“The Use Of Information And Communication Technologies In Latinamerican Dentists: A Cross-Sectional Study”

Chérrez-Ojeda¹,

Vera-Paz²,

Vanegas

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Objectives: The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) allows people to communicate in "real-time". The popularity of these tools has created a need for healthcare providers to have an online presence and interact with their patients via an increasing number of channels. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of use, perceptions, and barriers of ICTs among Ecuadorian dentists. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among 342 Ecuadorian dentists. The questionnaire included 13 items related to the frequency of use, perceptions and barriers of ICTs among dentists.Results: Almost all participants reported communicating with colleagues (99.7%) and with patients (96.2%) using ICTs. In contrast, academic information searching was the least used application, with 36.5% (n = 125) of respondents indicating no ICT use for this purpose. WhatsApp was overall the most used ICT with 97.4% of participants using it to contact colleagues and 93.6% to contact patients. Similarly, Facebook was used by 88.0% (n = 301) of dentists to interact with colleagues while 67.8% did so with patients. More than 90% (n = 308) of dentists perceived that ICTs are useful for health and service promotion, getting involved in research projects, solving daily clinical cases, working in groups and finding new job opportunities. Regarding barriers, privacy was the biggest concern among dentists, with 65.2% (n = 223) agreeing that it is an issue concerning ICT use. The second most frequent barrier was time, with 48% (n = 164) of respondents considering not having enough time to use ICTs.Conclusions: We found that Ecuadorian dentists had high usage of ICTs, mainly for communication among professionals and communication with their patients. Academic information searching remains a comparatively underused application of these tools. Most participants had a positive perception of ICTs in the dentistry practice, particularly younger dentists. Furthermore, dentists had a positive perception of ICTs. Finally, privacy remains the main barrier for ICT adoption according to our survey.

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<p>Frequency of Use, Perceptions and Barriers of Information and Communication Technologies Among Latin American Physicians: An Ecuadorian Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Cited by 24 publications

References 41 publications

The use of information and communication technologies in Latin American dentists: a cross-sectional study from Ecuador

The use of information and communication technologies in Latin American dentists: a cross-sectional study from Ecuador

The use of information and communication technologies in Latin American dentists: A Cross-Sectional Study from Ecuador

“The Use Of Information And Communication Technologies In Latinamerican Dentists: A Cross-Sectional Study”

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