Smartphone Use and Perceptions among Medical Students and Practicing Physicians

Abstract

Background: Smartphones have become mainstream, including in the healthcare setting. However, little formal research has been performed to examine mobile medical technology.Aims: To examine smartphone use and perceptions among medical students and physicians in a statewide medical university.Methodology: An IRB approved 23-item survey eliciting smartphone use and perceptions was developed by the research team and an e-mail invitation for participation was sent to all medical students, resident and attending physicians in three medical schools.Results: A total of 544 surveys were submitted; 347 were completed and analyzed. 93.9% of respondents had smartphones, with no significant difference between students and physicians. Of those with the technology, 82.9% stated they have used it at least once in a clinical setting. Respondents perceived fast access to information to be the greatest benefit to mobile medical technology (96.6%), as well as simplified access (75.5%). Greatest perceived barriers to using this technology were uncertainty about available applications (39.4%) and inexperience (23.4%). There was no significant difference between students and physicians with regard to either category. Concerning patient-centered applications, assistance with lifestyle modification (78.8%) and increased adherence to treatment plans (73.8%) were agreed upon as potential benefits. Greatest perceived barriers to recommending this technology were added cost to the patient (52.6%) and concerns about patient self-diagnosis (47.7%), with no significant difference found between students and physicians.Conclusion: These data demonstrate smartphone usage is prominent in the healthcare setting and indicates strong agreement regarding its benefits and barriers. Implementing smartphone education into medical curricula may be beneficial to healthcare providers.

Social media: Insights for medical education from instructor perceptions and usage

“…With only a small proportion of students not having access to appropriate technology (Buchholz et al, 2016;Gikas & Grant, 2013;Gökçearslan et al, 2016;Ozdalga et al, 2012), it may not be access that prevents student usage, but rather student willingness to register with particular SoMe accounts and then to engage with them for learning. VLEs are considered compulsory resources by institutions and can be accessed through the same devices, so citing technological availability may not be a fair justification for not using SoMe in L&T.…”

“…Worldwide, there are more than one billion active users of Facebook (Facebook, 2017) and YouTube (YouTube, 2017), and over 300 million active monthly users of Twitter (Twitter, 2017). These figures include high levels of SoMe activity among undergraduate students for educational as well as social purposes (Ali, 2016;Guraya, 2016;Knight-McCord et al, 2016;Roblyer, McDaniel, Webb, Herman, & Witty, 2010;Tess, 2013) and such usage parallels the availability of remote SoMe access achieved through uptake in smart devices (Buchholz, Perry, Weiss, & Cooley, 2016;Evrim, 2014;Gökçearslan, Mumcu, Haşlaman, & Çevik, 2016;Ozdalga, Ozdalga, & Ahuja, 2012;Ponce, Méndez, & Peñalvo, 2014). In the early to mid2000s, SoMe and Web 2.0 arose as new, exciting and innovative technologies (Boyd & Ellison, 2007) that instructors began to incorporate into educational activities (Booth & Hultén, 2003;Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2007) and the increasing interest in SoMe during this period is reflected in the volume of educational literature on this topic (Asiri & Househ, 2016;Aydin, 2012;Kakushi & Evora, 2016;Lafferty & Manca, 2015;McAndrew & Johnston, 2012;Pander, Pinilla, Dimitriadis, & Fischer, 2014;& Cochran, 2012), blurring of the staff-student boundary (Mazer et al, 2007); unprofessional usage (Kitsis et al, 2016); and impacts on lecturer credibility (Hutchens & Hayes, 2014).…”

The “e-Generation”: The Technological Usage and Experiences of Medical Students from a Developing Country

“…Chatterley and Chojecki reported that 35% of students regularly had problems in downloading programs, updating resources, and using wireless Internet and they were frustrated by lack of technical support [ 12 ]. Inexperience and lack of comfort with technology were also described as significant barriers in other studies [ 6 , 25 ]. Safdari et al showed that the technical skills of using medical “apps” of a significant percentage of medical UGs (31%) were only at an elementary level [ 20 ].…”

“…As a solution to this significant barrier, initiation of hand-held computer training in the first year of medical school with ongoing training during clinical rotations has been recommended [ 28 ]. Similarly other authors also recommended that mobile medical technology should be integrated at the beginning of UG medical education providing training and encouragement to medical students from the very first year [ 6 , 29 ]. Therefore, institutions could promote PEDs usage by providing training and knowledge to build confidence in technology as a part of curriculum for medical UGs, especially during their early years.…”

“…A recent multicentre survey done in UK showed that almost 99% of doctors owned and used a smart phone [ 4 ]. Furthermore, in developed countries smart phone ownership among medical students is known to be around 79–83% [ 5 , 6 ].…”