Mobile Applications User Trend Analysis of Turkish Physicians in Digital Environments

Abstract

Due to the rapid rise in mobile device utilization around the world, many consumers, researchers, clinicians, and health service officials begin to realize how helpful these devices can be when used in the field of health. Besides its informative role in improving the upgrading and efficiency of current health services, mobile communication-assisted healthcare (mHealth) also creates opportunities for the development of other services, which are strikingly new and curative particularly in the development of health communication programs conveying personal health information. mHealth initiatives are based on five key areas: the development of indicators for health and well-being, enhanced dissemination of health information, capacity building, strengthening of health information networks, and support for developing health information strategies. Within the scope of this study, the preliminary findings from an online health communication survey titled “Mobile Apps User Trend Analysis of Turkish Physicians” are reported. The survey aims to understand physicians’ perception of mobile apps and their intentions to use these apps in medical and daily communication practices with their patients. This study also focuses on discovering the behavior of physicians and the applications they download related to healthcare, medical information, and their patients’ health history. The analysis of the data showed that mobile applications for continuous medical education and social media channels such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are gaining increasing acceptance as mechanisms for instantaneous daily and especially scientific dialogues for physicians. In this context, improvements in the health communication have the potential to play a significant role in the development of a promising new platform for patients/consumers and healthcare providers.