Effect of Controlled Social Media Oral Health Interventions Using Storytelling and Text-Based Education on Knowledge, Practice, and Satisfaction of Mothers with Toddlers: A Clinical Trial
-
Elaheh Amirian
,
Hoda Bahramian
,
Ali Zekavat
,
Ali Baghalian
,
Mohammad Javad Kharazifard
,
Simin Zahra Mohebbi
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the impact of social media oral health interventions, using storytelling and text-based education, on the knowledge, practice, and satisfaction of toddlers’ mothers.
Materials and Methods: This controlled clinical trial was conducted in 2020 and involved 118 Iranian mothers with toddlers who were active Instagram users. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups storytelling (n=35) and text-based education (n=83). After two weeks, the mothers’ knowledge (n=8 questions), practice (n=7 questions), and satisfaction (n=5 questions) were assessed using an online questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney test and generalized linear model were used for statistical analyses (alpha=0.05).
Results: The mean scores of knowledge, practice of mothers regarding their children, and their practice regarding themselves were 34.71±6.85, 10.54±5.05, and 8.65±1.84 in the storytelling group, and 34.87±6.80, 10.32±3.97, and 9.18±1.76 in the text-based education group, respectively. Of all, 71.4% of those in the storytelling group and 72.3% of the text-based education group described the received content as very good. Mothers’ knowledge (P=0.002, β=0.094) and practice regarding their children (P=0.041, β=0.099) were directly correlated with their satisfaction. The satisfaction score was significantly lower in mothers with a higher educational level (P=0.003, β=-1.3).
Conclusion: While mothers displayed a relatively desirable level of knowledge, their oral health practice fell short. However, it is worth noting that mothers expressed high satisfaction with both interventions. Hence, online learning should be considered and promoted alongside traditional methods to effectively accelerate oral health practices. Implementing these methods over an extended period will help establish more sustainable effects.
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28. French KA, Dumani S, Allen TD, Shockley KM. A meta-analysis of work-family conflict and social support. Psychol Bull. 2018 Mar;144(3):284-314.
29. Khan MI, Rahman ZU, Saleh MA, Khan SU. Social media and social support: a framework for patient satisfaction in healthcare. Informatics. 2022 Mar;9(1):22.
30. Khosravi M, Jahani Y, Mirzaee M, Payandeh A, Bahrampour A. Factors associated with patient satisfaction in teaching hospitals in Zahedan (Iran) in 2017: A two-level regression model. Electron Physician. 2018 Oct;10(10):7325-32.
31. Jafari Kelarijani SE, Jamshidi R, Heidarian AR, Khorshidi M. Evaluation of factors influencing patient satisfaction in social security hospitals in Mazandaran province, North of Iran. Caspian J Intern Med. 2014 Fall;5(4):232-4.
32. Cotta RM, Marques ES, de Mattos Maia T, Azeredo CM, Schott M, Franceschini SD, et al. The user’s satisfaction of the Family Health Program: evaluation on health care [Abstract in English]. Sci Med. 2005;15(4).
33. Yassaei S, Davari AR, Aghaei MR, Ghaffari Targhi M. Comparison two learning methods of oral health education storytelling and speech on elementary school students in Yazd. J Health. 2016 Apr;7(1):102-8.
34. Rubegni E, Landoni M. Evaluating engagement in reading: Comparing children and adult assessors. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery; 2016 Jun. p. 113-24.
35. Sarwer-Foner SND, Barasuol JC, Vieira RS. Impact of social media on the oral hygiene habits of children and adolescents: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Gen Dent. 2021 Jan-Feb;69(1):70-6.
36. Ho AMH, Phelan R, Mizubuti GB, Murdoch JAC, Wickett S, Ho AK, et al. Bias in before-after studies: narrative overview for anesthesiologists. Anesth Analg. 2018 May;126(5):1755-62.
2. Baker SD, Lee JY, Wright R. The importance of the age one dental visit. Chicago, IL: Pediatric Oral Health Research and Policy Center, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2019.
3. Weber-Gasparoni K. Examination, diagnosis, and treatment planning of the infant and toddler. In: Nowak AJ, Christensen JR, Mabry TR, Townsend JA, Wells MH, editors. Pediatric Dentistry: Infancy through Adolescence. 6th ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2019. p. 200-15.
4. Singh N, Dubey N, Rathore M, Pandey P. Impact of early childhood caries on quality of life: Child and parent perspectives. J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2020 Apr-Jun;10(2):83-6.
5. Saied-Moallemi Z, Virtanen JI, Ghofranipour F, Murtomaa H. Influence of mothers' oral health knowledge and attitudes on their children's dental health. Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2008 Jun;9(2):79-83.
6. Salama AA, Konsowa EM, Alkalash SH. Mothers' knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding their primary school children's oral hygiene. Menoufia Med J. 2020 Jan;33(1):11-7.
7. Kotha SB, Alabdulaali RA, Dahy WT, Alkhaibari YR, Albaraki AS, Alghanim AF. The influence of oral health knowledge on parental practices among the Saudi parents of children aged 2-6 years in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia. J Int Soc Prev Community Dent. 2018 Nov-Dec;8(6):565-71.
8. Schroth RJ, Boparai G, Boparai M, Zhang L, Svitlica M, Jacob L, et al. Tracking early visits to the dentist: a look at the first 3 years of the Manitoba Dental Association's Free First Visit program. J Can Dent Assoc. 2015;81:f8.
9. Curi DSC, Figueiredo ACL, Jamelli SR. Factors associated with the utilization of dental health services by the pediatric population: an integrative review. Cien Saude Colet. 2018 May;23(5):1561-76.
10. Regmi K, Jones L. A systematic review of the factors--enablers and barriers--affecting e-learning in health sciences education. BMC Med Educ. 2020 Mar;20(1):91.
11. Perifanou M, Tzafilkou K, Economides AA. The role of Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube frequency of use in university students' digital skills components. Educ Sci. 2021 Nov;11(12):766.
12. Pirkamali S, D'Souza L. Extent of Instagram usage among students of India and Iran: A comparative study. Dogo Rangsang Res J. 2020 Jul;10(7):250-61.
13. Farsi D. Social media and health care, part I: literature review of social media use by health care providers. J Med Internet Res. 2021 Apr;23(4):e23205.
14. Sabaretnam M, Bothra S, Warsi D. The technique of story-telling in thyroid diseases including surgery; useful or not. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2019 Apr;41:43-6.
15. Maher CA, Lewis LK, Ferrar K, Marshall S, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Vandelanotte C. Are health behavior change interventions that use online social networks effective? A systematic review. J Med Internet Res. 2014 Feb;16(2):e40.
16. Sinor MZ. Comparison between conventional health promotion and use of cartoon animation in delivering oral health education. Int J Humanit Soc Sci. 2011 Mar;1(3):169-74.
17. Bi J, Javadi M, Izadpanah S. The comparison of the effect of two methods of face-to-face and E-learning education on learning, retention, and interest in English language course. Educ Inf Technol (Dordr). 2023 Apr:1-26.
18. Kanchan S, Gaidhane A. Social media role and its impact on public health: A narrative review. Cureus. 2023 Jan;15(1):e33737.
19. Vereen RN, Kurtzman R, Noar SM. Are social media interventions for health behavior change efficacious among populations with health disparities?: A meta-analytic review. Health Commun. 2023 Jan;38(1):133-40.
20. Zolfaghari M, Shirmohammadi M, Shahhosseini H, Mokhtaran M, Mohebbi SZ. Development and evaluation of a gamified smart phone mobile health application for oral health promotion in early childhood: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Oral Health. 2021 Jan;21(1):18.
21. Peckham E, Brabyn S, Cook L, Devlin T, Dumville J, Torgerson DJ. The use of unequal randomisation in clinical trials--An update. Contemp Clin Trials. 2015 Nov;45(Pt A):113-22.
22. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Policy on early childhood caries (ECC): Classifications, consequences, and preventive strategies. In: The Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, IL: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2020. p. 79-81.
23. Almanasreh E, Moles R, Chen TF. Evaluation of methods used for estimating content validity. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2019 Feb;15(2):214-21.
24. Choonhawarakorn K, Kasemkhun P, Leelataweewud P. Effectiveness of a message service on child oral health practice via a social media application: A randomized controlled trial. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2025 Mar;35(2):446-55.
25. Haleem A, Khan MK, Sufia S, Chaudhry S, Siddiqui MI, Khan AA. The role of repetition and reinforcement in school-based oral health education-a cluster randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2016 Jan;16:2.
26. Jadhav HC, Dodamani AS, Karibasappa GN, Naik RG, Khairnar MR, Deshmukh MA, et al. Effect of reinforcement of oral health education message through short messaging service in mobile phones: A quasi-experimental trial. Int J Telemed Appl. 2016;2016:7293516.
27. Smailhodzic E, Hooijsma W, Boonstra A, Langley DJ. Social media use in healthcare: A systematic review of effects on patients and on their relationship with healthcare professionals. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016 Aug;16(1):442.
28. French KA, Dumani S, Allen TD, Shockley KM. A meta-analysis of work-family conflict and social support. Psychol Bull. 2018 Mar;144(3):284-314.
29. Khan MI, Rahman ZU, Saleh MA, Khan SU. Social media and social support: a framework for patient satisfaction in healthcare. Informatics. 2022 Mar;9(1):22.
30. Khosravi M, Jahani Y, Mirzaee M, Payandeh A, Bahrampour A. Factors associated with patient satisfaction in teaching hospitals in Zahedan (Iran) in 2017: A two-level regression model. Electron Physician. 2018 Oct;10(10):7325-32.
31. Jafari Kelarijani SE, Jamshidi R, Heidarian AR, Khorshidi M. Evaluation of factors influencing patient satisfaction in social security hospitals in Mazandaran province, North of Iran. Caspian J Intern Med. 2014 Fall;5(4):232-4.
32. Cotta RM, Marques ES, de Mattos Maia T, Azeredo CM, Schott M, Franceschini SD, et al. The user’s satisfaction of the Family Health Program: evaluation on health care [Abstract in English]. Sci Med. 2005;15(4).
33. Yassaei S, Davari AR, Aghaei MR, Ghaffari Targhi M. Comparison two learning methods of oral health education storytelling and speech on elementary school students in Yazd. J Health. 2016 Apr;7(1):102-8.
34. Rubegni E, Landoni M. Evaluating engagement in reading: Comparing children and adult assessors. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. New York, NY: Association for Computing Machinery; 2016 Jun. p. 113-24.
35. Sarwer-Foner SND, Barasuol JC, Vieira RS. Impact of social media on the oral hygiene habits of children and adolescents: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Gen Dent. 2021 Jan-Feb;69(1):70-6.
36. Ho AMH, Phelan R, Mizubuti GB, Murdoch JAC, Wickett S, Ho AK, et al. Bias in before-after studies: narrative overview for anesthesiologists. Anesth Analg. 2018 May;126(5):1755-62.
| Issue | Vol 23 (Continuously Published Article-Based) | |
| Section | Original Article | |
| Keywords | ||
| Controlled Clinical Trial Health Education Dental Mothers Social Media | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Amirian E, Bahramian H, Zekavat A, Baghalian A, Kharazifard M, Mohebbi SZ. Effect of Controlled Social Media Oral Health Interventions Using Storytelling and Text-Based Education on Knowledge, Practice, and Satisfaction of Mothers with Toddlers: A Clinical Trial. Front Dent. 2026;23.
