Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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INTERNET AND COMPUTER USE AMONGST EUROPEAN PHARMACY UNDERGRADUATES: EXPLORING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

AFONSO MIGUEL DAS NEVES CAVACO1 , EVELYN SCHAAFSMA2, BURCU KUCUK BICER3, BILGE SOZEN SAHNE4, DAISY VOLMER5, GULBIN OZCELIKAY6, JANIS KURLOVICS7, NORA KRAUJA8, MAARTEN POSTMA9, SELEN YEGENOGLU4*

1.Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Prof. Gama Pinto Street, 1649-003, Lisbon, Portugal
2 .University of Groningen, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmaceutical Care, 1 Antonius Deusinglaan Str., 9713, AV Groningen, The Netherlands
3 .Hacettepe University Institute of Public Health, 06100, Sıhhiye Ankara, Turkey
4 .Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Management, 06100, Sıhhiye Ankara, Turkey
5 .University of Tartu, Department of Pharmacy, 1 Nooruse Str., 50411, Tartu, Estonia
6 .Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Management, 06100, Tandogan Ankara, Turkey
7 .University of Latvia, Faculty of Medicine, 48 Kr. Valdemāra Str., Riga, Latvia
8 .Riga Stradins University, Department of Dosage Form Technology, 16 Dzirciema Str., Riga, Latvia
9 .University of Groningen, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Department of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, 1 Hanzeplein Str., 9713, GZ Groningen, The Netherlands

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Computers and Internet use are very common in contemporary world. On the other hand, little is known concerning Internet use by pharmacy undergraduates in culturally diverse European countries, recognizing pharmacists as an extensive and homogeneously trained European workforce. To address this, a questionnaire-based survey was used. There were 654 participants from Estonia (4.1%), Latvia (8.9%), The Netherlands (9.9%), Portugal (32.6%) and Turkey (44.5%), with a majority of female students. Purposes for using the Internet were communication, academic work, social networking, listening to music and watching movies, although significant differences were found in activities beyond academic work. Social media were the most popular websites in all countries. Finally, relevant differences in retrieving up-to-date health information existed. With potential differences in access and retrieval of latest health information and broader use of information technologies, greater convergence of competencies in this area would be desired, considering a shared European e-healthcare and pharmaceutical marketplace.