Lebanese pharmacists' confidence and self-perceptions of computer literacy: scale validation and correlates

Abstract

Background: Most pharmacists agree that continuing education (CE) programs positively affect their practice and increase their knowledge, with computer-based courses being their preferred type of CE (60.6%). The route to using medical e-services and e-learning is not straightforward. High setup costs and time commitments to sustain quality are issues brought up in this respect. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to validate the general confidence with computer use (GCWCU) scale and assess computer literacy and its associated factors among Lebanese pharmacists.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted, using a random sample of Lebanese pharmacists from all districts of Lebanon. The general confidence with computer use (GCWCU) scale was used to assess computer literacy.

Results: This study enrolled 628 (83.73%) pharmacists. The GCWCU items converged over two factors (Cronbach's alpha = 0.716). A higher GCWCU was associated with the ease of access to the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon e-library (beta = 2.58), owning a tablet (beta = 2.80), being connected for 4 h daily (beta = 2.71), the ease of access to the learning management system (beta = 2.39), holding a PhD (beta = 4.28) or a PharmD (beta = 1.16), and working in hospitals (beta = 2.60).

Conclusion: This study showed that the GCWCU is adequate to assess computer literacy in Lebanese pharmacists and identified factors affecting and/or associated with computer literacy. It presented insights into essential computer skills and abilities of Lebanese pharmacists and identified factors associated with their general confidence with computer use in their practice. These findings would help decision-makers and CE providers design learning materials for pharmacists to improve their computer literacy for better practice and patient care.

Keywords: Computer; Continuing education; Lebanon; Literacy; Pharmacist.