The use of social media for professional purposes among dentists in Saudi Arabia

doi:10.1186/s12903-021-01390-w

. 2021 Jan 12;21(1):26.

doi: 10.1186/s12903-021-01390-w.

The use of social media for professional purposes among dentists in Saudi Arabia

Khalifa S Al-Khalifa¹, Abdullah S Al-Swuailem², Rasha AlSheikh³, Yasmeen Y Muazen⁴, Yazeed A Al-Khunein⁵, Hassan Halawany², Khalid S Al-Abidi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia. kalkhalifa@iau.edu.sa.
² Department of Periodontics and Community Dentistry, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Dental Internship Program, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Dental Department, Armed Forces Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Substitutive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 33435911
PMCID: PMC7802311
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-021-01390-w

The use of social media for professional purposes among dentists in Saudi Arabia

Khalifa S Al-Khalifa et al. BMC Oral Health. 2021.

. 2021 Jan 12;21(1):26.

doi: 10.1186/s12903-021-01390-w.

Authors

Khalifa S Al-Khalifa¹, Abdullah S Al-Swuailem², Rasha AlSheikh³, Yasmeen Y Muazen⁴, Yazeed A Al-Khunein⁵, Hassan Halawany², Khalid S Al-Abidi⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia. kalkhalifa@iau.edu.sa.
² Department of Periodontics and Community Dentistry, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Restorative Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Dental Internship Program, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Dental Department, Armed Forces Hospital, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Substitutive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

PMID: 33435911
PMCID: PMC7802311
DOI: 10.1186/s12903-021-01390-w

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the dentists' opinions towards social media (SM) use in daily practice and the expected limitations from its use in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: An electronic survey was carried out throughout May-June 2020 among a sample of dentists in Saudi Arabia. The survey covered three parts: the first part covered professional and demographic information, the second part covered the use of mobile phones and SM in dental practice, while the third part assessed dentists' opinion on SM use. Descriptive statistics included frequency distributions and percentages and independent t test/ANOVA test for the relationship between the mean of dentists' opinion towards SM and demographic variables. A p value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant.

Results: The majority of respondents (80%) believe that SM plays an active role in patients' decisions regarding the selection of a healthcare provider. The mean dentists' opinion scores on the use of SM were significantly lower among participants working more than 50 h per week compared with other participants (p = 0.014).

Conclusion: The majority of sampled dentists believe that SM plays an active role in patients' decisions regarding the healthcare provider's selection. Directed campaigns can help dentists optimize the use of SM for both professional and personal purposes.

Keywords: Dentists; Healthcare; Opinion; Saudi Arabia; Social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Dentists’ opinion scores on the use of social media

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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[1] von Muhlen M, Ohno-Machado L. Reviewing social media use by clinicians. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2012;19(5):777–781. - PMC - PubMed

[2] von Muhlen M, Ohno-Machado L. Reviewing social media use by clinicians. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2012;19(5):777–781. - PMC - PubMed

[3] Leonardi PM. Social media, knowledge sharing, and innovation: toward a theory of communication visibility. Inf Syst Res Inf Syst Res. 2014;25(4):796–816. doi: 10.1287/isre.2014.0536. - DOI

[4] Leonardi PM. Social media, knowledge sharing, and innovation: toward a theory of communication visibility. Inf Syst Res Inf Syst Res. 2014;25(4):796–816. doi: 10.1287/isre.2014.0536. - DOI

[5] Alanzi T, Al-Yami S. Physicians’ attitude towards the use of social media for professional purposes in Saudi Arabia. Int J Telemed Appl. 2019;2019:6323962. - PMC - PubMed

[6] Alanzi T, Al-Yami S. Physicians’ attitude towards the use of social media for professional purposes in Saudi Arabia. Int J Telemed Appl. 2019;2019:6323962. - PMC - PubMed

[7] Sugawara Y, Narimatsu H, Tsuya A, Tanaka A, Fukao A. Medical institutions and twitter: a novel tool for public communication in Japan. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2016;2(1):e19. - PMC - PubMed

[8] Sugawara Y, Narimatsu H, Tsuya A, Tanaka A, Fukao A. Medical institutions and twitter: a novel tool for public communication in Japan. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2016;2(1):e19. - PMC - PubMed

[9] Keller B, Labrique A, Jain KM, Pekosz A, Levine O. Mind the gap: social media engagement by public health researchers. J Med Internet Res. 2014;16(1):e8. - PMC - PubMed

[10] Keller B, Labrique A, Jain KM, Pekosz A, Levine O. Mind the gap: social media engagement by public health researchers. J Med Internet Res. 2014;16(1):e8. - PMC - PubMed

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The use of social media for professional purposes among dentists in Saudi Arabia

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The use of social media for professional purposes among dentists in Saudi Arabia

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Conflict of interest statement

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