Internet and computer use amongst European pharmacy undergraduates: Exploring similarities and differences

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.