Family Physicians’ Sharing of Personal Information on Facebook
Journal Title: Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research - Year 2014, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
Aims: Online social networks, such as Facebook, are growing in popularity amongst physicians, and represent a potential avenue for the compromising of their privacy and professional boundaries. We sought to determine the extent to which family doctors are sharing personal information on Facebook. Study Design: Observational. Place and Duration of Study: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Data was collected between May and August of 2012. Methodology: From the website of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, all 1000 family physicians active in the Ottawa region were identified. A database was then created of subjects’ publicly shared information (i.e., information available to the general public) for those with accessible profiles on Facebook. Chi square and t-tests were performed to explore demographic patterns for those with viewable profiles; binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with Facebook visibility. Results: While only 10.2% of family physicians had publicly viewable profiles, 81.4% of those featured a visible profile photo; 91.2% could be messaged directly by any member of the public; a majority shared limited personal information, including recent online activities and place of education; 24% shared their place of work; 15% had visible lists of family members; and 14% disclosed their relationship status. From logistic regression, there were no significant factors associated with whether a physician was viewable on Facebook. Conclusion: While a minority of physicians have a publicly accessible Facebook profile, those that do are sharing personal information that may expose them to unwanted intrusions into their personal lives and unexpected patient interactions outside of the office. Physicians should be aware of options for making their online information less publicly accessible.
Authors and Affiliations
Kamila Premji, Raywat Deonandan, Andrea Nwosu
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP348558
- DOI 10.9734/BJMMR/2014/5048
- Views 70
- Downloads 0
The Glutathione S-Transferase Activities in the Evaluation Acute Viral Hepatitis B and Chronic Alcoholic Liver Disease
Glutathione S-Transferase is an important hepatic detoxifying enzyme. Half-life of GST alpha in plasma is about1hr; its concentration follows the changes in the hepatocellular damage more rapidly than aspartate amino tra...
Self Esteem among Adolescents in Nigerian Secondary Schools: A Neglected Issue
Background: Self esteem among adolescents is a neglected issue in pediatrics, especially in this part of the world. Females ages fourteen to seventeen seemed to have positive self-esteem and so do the males but self este...
Correlation between Academic and Psychomotor Skills Performances of Dental Students in Complete Denture Prosthodontics
Aims: This study was designed to determine if there is correlation between academic performance of students in complete denture prosthodontics and psychomotor skills for record blocks fabrication/complete denture teeth s...
Effectiveness and Safety of PDE5 Inhibitors for Men with Erectile Dysfunction Caused by Spinal Cord Injury
Aims: The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and spinal cord injury (SCI). Methodology: The following databases we...
Tissue Penetration of Bipolar Electrosurgery at Different Power Settings
Introduction: Bipolar electro-surgery is used in all disciplines of surgery to aid in haemostasis. Although common sense dictates tissue penetration will be effected by power settings, no formal evaluation of this effect...