Identifying Risk Factors Affecting the Usage of Digital and Social Media: A Preliminary Qualitative Study in the Dental Profession and Dental Education

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to identify the risk factors of using DSM to provide an insight into the inherent implications this has on dental professionals in practice and trainee professionals’ education. Materials and methods: Twenty-one participants (10 dental professionals and 11 undergraduate and postgraduate dental students) participated in this qualitative study using semi-structured interviews in a dental school in the UK. The interviews were analysed and categorised into themes, some of which were identified from previous literature (e.g., privacy and psychological risks) and others emerged from the data (e.g., deceptive and misleading information). Results: The thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified nine perceived risk themes. Three themes were associated with the use of DSM in the general context, and six themes were related to the use of DSM in professional and education context. Conclusions: This study provided evidence to understand the risk factors of using DSM in dental education and the profession, but the magnitude of these risks on the uptake and usefulness of DSM needs to be assessed.

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

“…14,15,21 Secondly, the interview transcripts from the previous qualitative study by the authors were revisited to identify the pertinent phrases that could form a relevant questionnaire item. 22 These identified F I G U R E 1 A flow chart of key steps in designing the study phrases were reworded to fit the purpose of the questionnaire.…”

Evaluation of Social Media Usage by Dental Practitioners of Pakistan for Professional Purposes – A Cross-Sectional Study

“…These results correspond with a study by Sharka et al, where it was found that the use of social media led to wastage of time and ignorance of performing important tasks at hand. 22 Many dentists in our study believed that as a dentist, it is their responsibility to disapprove and correct such content. To tackle such misinformation, publishing real and authentic news has one of the suggested ways.…”

Diagnóstico além da tela: caracterização das publicações do Instagram sobre Estomatologia e Patologia Oral

“…Outro estudo realizado com alunos e profissionais da área odontológica demonstrou que os estudantes percebem que as informações encontradas nas redes sociais podem ser questionáveis, por diferirem do que é ensinado em ambiente acadêmico. Da mesma forma, os profissionais reconhecem como a principal limitação do uso dessas mídias a falta da garantia de veracidade do que é publicado, uma vez que não há nenhum filtro que permita diferenciar informações verdadeiras de falsas (Sharka et al, 2021).…”