Smartphone and medical application use among dentists in China
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(2020) 20:213
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Smartphone and medical application use among dentists in China Chao Zhang1,2,3, Lin Fan1,2,3, Zhaowu Chai1,2,3, Cong Yu1,2,3 and Jinlin Song1,2,3*
Abstract Background: With the development of information technology, an increasing number of healthcare professionals are using smartphones and mobile medical applications (apps) in their clinical practice. The objective of this study was to survey the use of smartphone-based medical apps among dentists in China and determine dentists’ perceptions of such apps. Methods: All data were collected using anonymous questionnaires. The questionnaires for this cross-sectional study were randomly sent to dentists by email, and 379 dentists responded. Dentists’ demographics and perceptions of WeChat, QQ (the most popular social media apps in China) and other medical apps were assessed; the questionnaire including questions on the purpose, frequency, daily use, and opinion of the apps they used. Questions were answered using a Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = not sure, 4 = disagree, and 5 = strongly disagree). Results: A total of 379 valid responses were received; the respondents had a median age of 33.6 years old (63.3% female). All subjects (100%) owned a smartphone, and all of them installed and used WeChat or QQ in their clinical practice. Only 76% of subjects installed medical apps (other than WeChat and QQ) on their smartphones. Male dentists were more likely to install medical apps than female dentists (p < 0.05). With increasing age, the percentage of dentists who installed medical apps decreased (p < 0.001). The frequency and daily use were higher for WeChat and QQ than for medical apps. Medical apps were positively perceived, with dentists reporting that they recommend these medical apps to their peers (Likert score: 1.67 ± 0.68). Conclusion: Medical apps were perceived to have a positive impact on clinical practice, education and patient care in dentistry by providing relevant medical information. However, there will still be much room for improvement in the future. Keywords: Smartphone, Medical applications, Dentistry, China, Dentists
Background With the development and decreasing costs of information technology, an increasing number of people are becoming internet users worldwide. Data show that the number of internet users in the world was nearly 4,536, 248,808 by June 30, 2019 [1]. There are 2,300,469,859 * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 College of Stomatology, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China 2 Chongqing Key Laboratory for Oral Diseases and Biomedical Sciences, Chongqing, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
internet users in Asia, representing 54.2% of the world. To date, mobile devices (such as mobile smartphones and tablets) are the main tools for accessing the internet. Smartphones have become handheld computers rather than mobile communication devices because of their powerful computing function, spacious memories, large scre
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