Table 4.
Comparison of e-professional behaviour perception between MDs and DMDs
| Online behaviour | Classifying as "unprofessional" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All doctors N (%) | MD N (%) | DMD N (%) | χ2, df, p | |
| Posts disclosing information about a patient/client | 746 (99.1) | 504 (99.4) | 242 (98.4) | 0.965, 1, 0.326 |
| Petty criminal activity | 738 (98) | 496 (97.8) | 242 (98.4) | 0.050, 1, 0.824 |
| Posts depicting illicit drug consumption | 731 (97.1) | 493 (97.2) | 238 (96.7) | 0.021, 1, 0.885 |
| Posts involving overt sexual content | 715 (95) | 481 (94.9) | 234 (95.1) | 0.000, 1, 1.000 |
| Photos of a patient/client | 705 (93.6) | 493 (97.2) | 212 (86.2) | 32.119, 1, 0.000** |
| Swearing or foul language | 658 (87.4) | 439 (86.6) | 219 (89.0) | 0.685, 1, 0.408 |
| Obscene gestures in photos (the middle finger, etc.) | 647 (85.9) | 433 (85.4) | 214 (87.0) | 0.226, 1, 0.634 |
| Pictures of an individual clearly behaving drunkenly | 632 (83.9) | 424 (83.6) | 208 (84.6) | 0.047, 1, 0.828 |
| Status updates describing substantial alcohol consumption at a party | 615 (81.7) | 418 (82.4) | 197 (80.1) | 0.471, 1, 0.493 |
| Attitudes of superiority or condescending behaviour (assumed because of professional status) | 608 (80.7) | 411 (81.1) | 197 (80.1) | 0.050, 1, 0.824 |
| Posts containing partial nudity | 587 (78) | 386 (76.1) | 201 (81.7) | 2.678, 1, 0.102 |
| Endorsements of a pharmaceutical or health product without a conflict-of-interest disclosure | 525 (69.7) | 380 (75.0) | 145 (58.9) | 19.354, 1, 0.000** |
| Displaying membership in online groups dealing with controversial issues | 405 (53.8) | 280 (55.2) | 125 (50.8) | 1.127, 1, 0.288 |
| Posts describing an interaction with a patient/client, while not revealing any identifying information | 403 (53.5) | 304 (60.0) | 99 (40.2) | 25.097, 1, 0.000** |
| Making opinionated comments about controversial issues | 322 (42.8) | 209 (41.2) | 113 (45.9) | 1.316, 1, 0.251 |
| A picture of an individual having one alcoholic beverage | 237 (31.5) | 181 (35.7) | 56 (22.8) | 12.258, 1, 0.000** |
| Displaying your current relationship status | 185 (24.6) | 137 (27.0) | 48 (19.5) | 4.643, 1, 0.031* |
*p < 0.05
**p < 0.01