Factor analysis of risk perceptions of using digital and social media in dental education and profession

Abstract

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Psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the perceived prosthodontic treatment need scale: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses

“…The determination of the sample size was performed based on prior research and established statistical guidelines [ 26 – 29 ]. These suggestions proposed that it is preferable to have a respondent-to-item ratio of 10:1.…”

“…Because this new scale was tested in Arabic for first time, the initial psychometric analysis was computed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by applying principal component analysis (PCA) followed by a varimax (orthogonal) rotation method to determine the factor structure and parsimonious factorability of this scale [ 27 , 29 , 30 ]. PCA is a multivariate statistical method used to identify the underlying structure and transform high-dimensional data into a more manageable and lower-dimensional representation while preserving as much information as possible by leveraging the relationships between variables [ 27 , 29 , 30 ]. The varimax rotation was used to achieve an optimum and simplified structure, ensuring that each component defines a discrete cluster of correlated variables, hence facilitating simpler interpretation [ 27 ].…”

“…A significant value (P < 0.05) determines the presence of correlations among variables that meet the PCA assumption [ 26 ]. The determination of the number of extracted components to retain was guided by many criteria, including eigenvalues greater than 1, prior empirical research, the proportion of variance explained over 60%, and the scree plot analysis [ 26 , 29 ]. Items that had loading values over 0.4 were considered to have practical significance and were preserved [ 26 ].…”

The Troublesome and Delicate Relationship Between Scientific Evidence, Social Media and State-of-the-Art Clinical Practices

“…Even though many respected dental scientists and educators use these platforms as a mean to reach the population and other colleagues, trying to approach the scientific knowledge to the society, it is not uncommon that these platforms are also used to spread fake news or non-scientifically proven and validated protocols (1). Therefore, researchers and dental educators may remain skeptical about the real benefits of many advances because dentistry evolves faster than the rhythm at which scientific evidence is generated (2).…”

“…It is undeniable that technical, and technological developments have resulted in benefits for clinicians and patients, both by the introduction of more conservative, predictable and efficient techniques, and for the development of materials that exhibit higher biocompatibility, ease of use and overall better performance and longevity. However, the conjunction of massive diffusion of unfiltered information and lack of scientific knowledge may cause that some dental clinicians fall as victims of misinformation, exposing their patients to unnecessary, overly invasive, or overall harmful procedures that affect the quality of life of the people (1).…”