Dipartimento di Scienze di Laboratorio e Infettivologiche, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Dipartimento di Sicurezza e Bioetica, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
PLoS One. 2020 Sep 3;15(9):e0238414. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238414. eCollection 2020.
In the face of the rapid evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals on the frontline are in urgent need of frequent updates in the accomplishment of their practice. Hence, clinicians started to search for prompt, valid information on sources that are parallel to academic journals. Aim of this work is to investigate the extent of this phenomenon. We administered an anonymous online cross-sectional survey to 645 Italian clinicians. Target of the survey were all medical figures potentially involved in the management of COVID-19 cases. 369 questionnaires were returned. 19.5% (n = 72) of respondents were younger than 30 years-old; 49,3% (n = 182) worked in Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine or Respiratory Medicine departments, 11.5% (n = 42) in Intensive Care Unit and 7.4% (n = 27) were general practitioner. 70% (n = 261) of respondents reported that their use of social media to seek medical information increased during the pandemic. 39.3% (n = 145) consistently consulted Facebook groups and 53.1% (n = 196) Whatsapp chats. 47% (n = 174) of respondents reported that information shared on social media had a consistent impact on their daily practice. In the present study, we found no difference in social media usage between age groups or medical specialties. Given the urgent need for scientific update during the present pandemic, these findings may help understanding how clinicians access new evidences and implement them in their daily practice.
面对 COVID-19 大流行的迅速演变，一线医疗保健专业人员急需在实践中不断更新知识。因此，临床医生开始在与学术期刊平行的资源上寻找快速、有效的信息。本研究旨在调查这种现象的程度。我们对 645 名意大利临床医生进行了匿名在线横断面调查。调查的目标是所有可能参与 COVID-19 病例管理的医疗人员。共收回 369 份问卷。19.5%（n=72）的受访者年龄在 30 岁以下；49.3%（n=182）在传染病、内科或呼吸内科部门工作，11.5%（n=42）在重症监护病房，7.4%（n=27）是全科医生。70%（n=261）的受访者报告称，他们在大流行期间增加了使用社交媒体获取医疗信息。39.3%（n=145）一直查阅 Facebook 群组，53.1%（n=196）查阅 Whatsapp 聊天记录。47%（n=174）的受访者报告称，社交媒体上分享的信息对他们的日常实践有持续影响。在本研究中，我们没有发现社交媒体使用与年龄组或医学专业之间存在差异。鉴于当前大流行期间对科学更新的迫切需求，这些发现可能有助于了解临床医生如何获取新证据并将其应用于日常实践。
