ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The use of social media across the globe has risen incrementally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these sites undeniably provided new avenues for professional networking but also led to a surge in cases of online misconduct. Professionalism instruments and scales do not assess the digital attitude and behaviour of healthcare professionals (HCPs). The purpose of this study was to identify the domains and items of digital professionalism related to social media use and to validate a self-assessment instrument to assess the digital professionalism of HCPs using social media. METHODS: An instrument development multiphase mixed method study (exploratory sequential) was conducted in two phases: item development and qualitative content validation followed by validation of the instrument. Feedback was taken from 15 experts for qualitative content validation in phase 1. In phase 2, content validity was established through three rounds of modified Delphi. Validity evidence was collected for the content (content validity index), response process (cognitive interviews), internal structure (confirmatory factor analysis), and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). RESULTS: The 48-item preliminary instrument was reduced to a 28-item instrument with eight domains: self-anonymity, privacy settings, maintenance of boundaries and confidentiality, conflict of interest, accountability, respect for colleagues, and ethics. The content validity index of the scale was 0.91. The reliability and construct validity of the instrument was established by responses from 500 healthcare professionals from multiple hospitals. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a model with a goodness-of-fit index of 0.86, root mean square error of approximation of 0.06, and observed normed χ2 of 2.7. The internal consistency through Cronbach's alpha α was 0.96. CONCLUSION: The digital professionalism self-assessment instrument (DP-SAI) has an appropriate level of content and measures the construct reliably. It can be used by medical doctors, dental clinicians, nurses, physiotherapists, and clinical pharmacists to self-assess and reflect on their social media practices. This will help to address these issues to enhance the quality of online communication through various social media platforms.
Subject(s)
Physical Therapists , Social Media , Humans , Pandemics , Professionalism , Reproducibility of Results , Self-Assessment , Delivery of Health CareABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of Shisha smoke on submucosal glands of trachea of mice; and compare it with tracheal glands of mice exposed to cigarette smoke. STUDY DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Anatomy, Islamic International Medical College, Rawalpindi, in collaboration with National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad from October 2013 till April 2014. METHODOLOGY: Sample comprised of 40 adult male mice of strain BALB/c. They were randomly divided into three groups. Control group was labelled as Group 'C'. The mice in this group were kept in a whole body smoke exposure chamber and were exposed to fresh air. Shisha group was labelled as Group 'SS', and the mice in this group were exposed to Shisha smoke. Mice in the third group labelled as Group CS were exposed to cigarette smoke. All the mice were dissected after an exposure period of eight weeks. Tracheal tissue was stained and examined microscopically for submucosal gland hypertrophy and compared with the control group, using Reid's Index. An Index of more than 0.4 is termed as hypertrophy. RESULTS: There was significant submucosal gland hypertrophy in groups CS and SS as compared to group C. There was also significant difference in the frequency of mucosal hypertrophy between SS (93.7%) and CS groups (53.3%), which was found statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Shisha smoking was significantly associated with mucosal hypertrophy when compared with cigarette smoking and controls. Shishasmoke contains higher level of toxicants as compared to cigarette smoke, and it causes more oxidative damage of tissues.
