E. O. Abara1, J. O. Olatosi2, N. Abara3, H. Y. Angate4 1Northern Ontario School Of Medicine,Clinical Sciences,Sudbury, ONTARIO, Canada 2University Of Lagos,College Of Medicine,Lagos, LAGOS, Nigeria 3University Of Texas Medical Branch,Department of Family Medicine,Galveston, TX, USA 4University Of Abidjan,College Of Medicine,Abidjan, ABIDJAN, Cote d’Ivoire
Introduction:
The use of technology, including Social media(SM) among physicians has been reported widely. Most of the usage is for personal reasons and at conferences. There is paucity of such reports in the West African sub-region. This study will help us understand how surgeons (physicians) in this sub-region perceive and use technology and SM.
Methods:
Paper questionnaire survey was administered to consenting attendees at the 2015 WACS 55 Congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.Questionnaire were in English (100) and French(100). Data were compiled in aggregate protecting the confidentiality of our respondents. Data will be stored for one year. Data analysis was by Excel soft ware Ethics approval was from the Ethics Review Board of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
Results:
of 200 , 74 (37%) questionnaires fully completed were from: Nigeria(60.8%);Cote D’Ivoire (20.3%); Benin Rep (5.4%);Mali (2.7%); Ghana, Senegal &Sierra Leone (1.4%) each and Non identified location (6.8%).45% were men; 31.5% women and 13.5% no response. Use of social media for personal reasons was more prevalent than for professional work. Use of various types of cell phones, daily internet use, texting. Email and various apps was common. Attitudes on the use of social media in health care ,’friending patients’ were varied Most physicians were not aware of any guidelines and/or legislation regarding online practices and privacy issues. Most physicians reported great value of SM during conferences. Overall, physician engagement in the social media services was 82.4% while 17.6% do not use them at all. More than 75% had computer, internet, cellular phone for their office practice. Fax machines, land phone lines, telemedicine and electronic health records (EHR) were rare <2%.
Conclusion:
The uptake of technology and social media is prevalent and bound to grow. Judicious adoption of technology and SM among physicians may result in strengthening the quality of health care in West Africa. Workshops and Development of Guidelines among physicians are recommended. Future efforts will focus on Urology and subspecialty surveys and increasing participation by the French speaking physicians