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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.

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Background: The use of technology in the medical field has been rising rapidly and offering, in many cases, an alternative to traditional ways of practicing medicine, especially when remote medical services are required. This background has laid the foundation for telemedicine to play a role in controlling the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Telemedicine has the potential to allow the facilitation of providing the necessary medical care to patients without exposing them to contact with other patients or the general population. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the utilization of telemedicine by the Lebanese physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This cross-sectional online study was conducted using LimeSurvey Ò through an e-mail-based questionnaire sent to physicians currently enrolled in both Beirut and Tripoli Lebanese Order of Physicians.Results: Four hundred one physicians completed the survey resulting in a response rate of 5.85%. Most of the respondents (N = 401, 75.8%) reported using telemedicine to provide health care services to patients without in-person visits during the pandemic. Among those using telemedicine (N = 304), around 40% reported that they started using it during COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion: Literature states that the average time of an inperson clinic consultation is more than 15 min. This implies that telemedicine can play a role in saving physicians' time; this conclusion is supported by other studies that consider telemedicine a time-saving method of providing health care services. Conclusions: Our study indicated that telemedicine is used by the majority of Lebanese physicians and that this use has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results showed that telemedicine does have a potential that can allow it to be integrated in the health care system and implemented on a national organized level.

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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, raising concern among the general population, and urging them to seek information. Raising awareness and providing essential medical information to broad audiences could be achieved through social media. Methods: We employed a cross-sectional survey design in Lebanon via phone calls. Participants were selected by simple random sampling, using a computer-based random number generator. The questionnaire was composed of 3 sections: Socio-demographics, awareness on COVID-19, and social media use assessment. Awareness was assessed using 30 questions forming the COVID-19 Public Awareness Score (COVID-PAS), and social media use was assessed using questions about participants' daily usage duration and platforms used. Results: A total of 641 participants with a mean age of 49.03 ± 15.36 were included in the study. Their COVID-PAS mean was 21.9 ± 3.8, and 561 (87.5%) were social media users. WhatsApp® and Facebook® were the most used. Multiple linear regression showed that higher educational level (P < 0.001), higher income (P < 0.001), and social media use (P < 0.001) were associated with better scores, while older age (P = 0.001) was associated with lower scores. Radio use (P = 0.01) and information from religious leaders (P < 0.001) were associated with lower scores only in the bivariate analysis. Conclusions: In general, the Lebanese population had a good awareness of COVID-19. Social media users had a significantly higher awareness score than the non-users, but there remains a need to further explore the aspects of social media use that affect their awareness.