Keywords
pain units
care and research work
internet.
Abstract
Objectives: The information provided by the Labor Conditions and Health Surveys (ECTS) allows for the formulation of public action programs that generate changes, set priorities and evaluate trends. Since 1987, when the first ECTS was carried out in Spain, this instrument has been consolidated as a data source for the information and communication technology system. The results show the need to establish the advance of the technological innovations in health and biomedical research. These advances will be decisive in the improvement of health, since they will involve new forms of medical care that contribute to the increase of life expectancy, the reduction of pain and the management of diseases. The objective of this study is to assess the level of acceptance of new technologies in physicians who treat pain through specific units. Matherial and method: A study was carried out to verify the use of ICTs in doctors who perform their care and research work in Pain Units. This study consists of an online survey, sent via email to the students of the Master’s Degree in Pain Treatment at the University of Salamanca. After the systematic collection of the information, the statistical analysis was carried out, addressing the frequency of the variables and the statistically significant relationships relevant to our study. Subsequently, a factor analysis, a cluster analysis and new composite variables are constructed to synthesize the data, to which, finally, an analysis was made using a logistic regression methodology through the Binomial Logit model. Results: Of the medical professionals who answered our survey, it was obtained that those who are men and work in Pain Units were 39.46 % and in Palliative Care they were 21.35 %. Adding this data, we obtain that 75.94 % of professionals work in public entities, 9.72 % in private entities and 11.05 % in both. More than 55 % of the professionals surveyed “never use computers or Information and Communication Technologies for the remote realization of diagnostic evaluation or prescription of therapeutic measures”. Conclutions: The results obtained show that Pain Units physicians consider the applications of Information and Communication Technologies to be a relevant element for clinical practice. In addition, given the clinical experience of professionals, the need for organizational changes associated with new computer systems is confirmed.References
1. Carrillo Castrillo JA. Caracterización de la accidentalidad laboral en el sector industrial andaluz en el periodo 2003-2008. Aplicaciones en el diseño y evaluación de programas de intervención (Tesis). Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla; 2014.
2. OECD. Information Technology Outlook. OCDE. [Fecha de consulta: 25 de septiembre de 2018]. Disponible en: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/20/47/33951035.pdf.
3. Anderson GF, Frogner BK, Johns RA, Reinhardt UE. Health care spending and use of information technology in oecd countries. Health Aff. 2006;25(3):819-31. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.25.3.819.
4. Burrows R, Nettleton S, Pleace N. Virtual community care? Social policy and the mergence of computer mediated social support. Information, Communication & Society 2000;3(1):95-121. DOI: 10.1080/136911800359446.
5. Kassirer JP. Patients, physicians, and the internet. Health Aff. 2000;19(6):115-23. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.19.6.115.
6. Miller TE, Derse AR. Between strangers: the practice of medicine online. Health Aff. 2002;21(4):168-79. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.21.4.168.
7. Levy J, Strombeck R. Health benefits and risk of the internet. J Med Syst. 2002;26(6):495-510.
8. Lorenzo S, Mira JJ. Are Spanish physicians ready to take advantage of the Internet? World World Hosp Health Serv. 2004;40(3):31-5.
9. Hasty RT, Garbalosa RC, Barbato VA, Valdes PJ Jr, Powers DW, Hernandez E, et al. Wikipedia vs peer-reviewed medical literature for information about the 10 most costly medical conditions. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2014;114(5);368-73. DOI: 10.7556/jaoa.2014.035.
10. Love T, Laier C, Brand M, Hatch L, Hajela R. Neuroscience of Internet Addiction: A Review and Update. Behav Sci. 2015;5(3):388-433. DOI: 10.3390/bs5030388.
11. Heath C, Luff P, Sanchez M. Technology and medical practice. Sociol Health Illn. 2003;25:75-96.
12. Muriel J, Sánchez Ledesma MJ, López Millan JM, García-Cenador MB. Study of the uses of Information and Communication Technologies by Pain Treatment Unit Physicians. J Med Syst 2017;41(5):78. DOI: 10.1007/s10916-017-0726-3.
13. Chew F, Grant W, Totes R. Doctors on-line: using diffusion of innovations theory to understand internet use. Fam Med. 2004;36(9):645-50.
14. Dear BF, Gandy M, Karin E, Staples LG, Johnston L, Fogliati VJ, et al. The Pain Course: a randomised controlled trial examining an internet-delivered pain management program when provided with different levels of clinician support. Pain. 2015;156(10):1920-35. DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000251.
15. Muriel J, García-Cenador MB, López Millan JM, Juanes JA, Sánchez-Ledesma MJ. Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Clinical Practice Related to the Treatment of Pain. Influence on the Professional Activity and the Doctor-Patient Relationship. J Med Syst. 2017;41(5):77. DOI: 10.1007/s10916-017-0724-5.
16. Cullen RJ. In search of evidence: family practicionaers’ use of Internet for clinical information. J Med Library Association 2002;90(4):370-9.
17. Wilkinson JF, Short HL, Wilkinson S, Mander A. Commissioning for menopause specialist services: A local perspective: An internet-based survey to assess the potential demand for menopause care in West Cheshire and the skills of local primary care clinicians in this field, with a view to informing future commissioning locally. Post Reprod Health. 2015;21(3):98-104. DOI: 10.1177/2053369115595309.
18. Walsh K Neuroscience education on the internet: the next steps. Malays J Med Sci. 2014;21(6):75.
19. De Lima Verde Brito TD, Baptista RS, de Lima Lopes PR, Haddad AE, Messina LA, Torres Pisa I. The Collaborative Coordination of Special Interest Groups on the Telemedicine University Network (RUTE) in Brazil. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2015;21(4):1010-16.