Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Epidemiology Researchers in Using E-Epidemiology Methods in Medical Sciences’ Researches

Background and Objectives: Recently, use of E-Epidemiology methods (internet, e-mail, cell phone, etc.) in epidemiological and medical sciences researches has had a prominent improvement. Therefore, the present study was designed and conducted with the aim of studying the knowledge, attitude, and practice of epidemiology researchers worldwide about using E-Epidemiology methods. Material and Methods: This mix study (quantitative-qualitative) was conducted in 2013 in Tabriz University of Medical Science. The participants consisted of epidemiology researchers from all over the world. The data gathering instrument in quantitative section was a researcher-made questionnaire in English whose validity and reliability were measured respectively with content-validity method and Chronbach’s alpha method with a sample of 15 participants (α=89). For qualitative section, an open-ended question was asked. After extracting participants’ (76) e-mail addresses, the questionnaires were sent to them via e-mail. The qualitative data were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistical methods (Frequency (percent), Mean, and Standard Deviation) and One Way ANOVA test by SPSS.16 software. Results: The results showed that the epidemiology researchers scored 51.22±14.7 in knowledge, 71.25±45 in attitude, and 46.98±14.03 in practice sections (from100). According to researchers’ attitude, using E-Epidemiology methods results in improvement of qualitative and quantitative level and also validity of the studies; however, there are some limitations by facilities, infrastructure, and culture for using them. Conclusion: In order to use E-Epidemiology in researches, increasing the knowledge level, changing the epidemiology researchers’ attitude, encouraging people to participate in these studies and providing appropriate facilities and good conditions in this field are necessary.