How are Pharmacists using Telegram for Professional Purposes in the Arab World?

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this research was to explore how pharmacists in the Arab world are using Telegram for their professional purposes. Participants and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate how pharmacists used Telegram for professional purposes in the Arab world. The survey questionnaire was distributed electronically to 391 participants and the response rate was 64%. Results: The majority of the participants (65%) were females, and 69% of them were less than 40 years old. Also, more than half of the respondents (63%) had a bachelor's degree, and 76% of them were working in clinical and operational jobs. 86% of the respondents had less than 20 years of experience, and 56% of the participants employed the Telegram platform for more than 1 hour weekly. Related to the use of Telegram, more than half of the participants (65%) used this social media for personal and professional purposes, and utilized this platform for several reasons: knowledge exchange (16%), education and new updates (14%), professional development (10%), networking (12%), health promotion (8%), and self-promotion (6%). Likewise, almost half of the respondents (49%) attended online courses and events announced on Telegram. According to the respondents, Telegram is a very and extremely important tool to improve knowledge about the profession (64%), reasoning (60%) and thinking skills (57%), problem-solving abilities (59%), creativity (62%), clinical and professional decision making (59%), patient outcomes (54%), and clinical expertise (56%). Conclusion: Telegram application has a potential and usefulness for the professional development and practical training of pharmacists.