Abstract
Design
Randomised controlled trial in a hospital setting.
Intervention
Both groups were given standard verbal and written information for patients receiving orthodontic treatment. In addition, patients in the intervention group received e-mails asking them to view a specifically designed YouTube unlisted video accessible through a web link in the e-mail. All patients were administered with a baseline questionnaire at bond-up which was repeated at six weeks.
Outcome measure
Change in question score from baseline.
Results
Sixty-seven patients were randomised (control = 34; intervention = 34). Seven patients were lost to follow-up; four in the control and three in intervention group. In all the participants watched the video 90 times. Participants in the intervention group scored, on average, almost one point higher on the second questionnaire than did those in the control group (95% CI for the difference, 0.305–1.602; P = 0.005). Ethnicity had a statistically significant effect on improvement in knowledge, but sex did not.
Conclusions
Presenting audiovisual information through the YouTube web site to orthodontic patients resulted in a significant improvement in patient knowledge. Supplementation of verbal and written patient information with audiovisual information via the internet is therefore worthy of consideration.
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References
Valente TW . Social networks and health: models, methods and applications. UK: Oxford University Press. 2010: 296.
Balatsoukas P, Kennedy CM, Buchan I, Powell J, Ainsworth J . The Role of Social Network Technologies in Online Health Promotion: A Narrative Review of Theoretical and Empirical Factors Influencing Intervention Effectiveness. J Med Internet Res 2015; 17:e141. doi: 10.2196/jmir.3662.
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Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Address for correspondence: Fadi M Al-Silwadi, Department of Orthodontics, UCL Eastman Dental Institute, 256 Gray's Inn Rd, London WC1X 8LD, United Kingdom. E-mail: fsilwadi@gmail.com.
Al-Silwadi FM, Gill DS, Petrie A, Cunningham SJ. Effect of social media in improving knowledge among patients having fixed appliance orthodontic treatment: A single-center randomized controlled trial. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2015; 148: 231–237.
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O'Brien, S., Duane, B. Delivery of information to orthodontic patients using social media. Evid Based Dent 18, 59–60 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6401245
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6401245
